Knackerli

http://www.ciaculinaryintelligence.com/desserts/

Makes 24 Knackerli

• 1 cup dark, milk, or white chocolate morsels
• 24 pistachios, peeled
• 24 dried cherries or cranberries
• 6 dried apricots, quartered
• 24 slivered almonds, toasted

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.
2. Spoon the chocolate or fill a parchment cone with the chocolate and pipe 1-in disks (1 teaspoon per disk) onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
3. Arrange 1 pistachio, 1 dried cherry or cranberry, 1 piece of dried apricot, and 1 piece of slivered almond onto each disk of chocolate.
4. Let the chocolate fully set before removing the disks from the parchment paper.

Notes: The chocolate can be piped in larger or smaller disks, if desired. Any type of nuts or dried fruit can be substituted for the pistachios, dried cranberries, and apricots.

When making Knackerli, it is important to remember that the size of the nuts and dried fruits corresponds to the size of the chocolate disk and that the colors and flavors complement each other.

Chef's Note: When preparing Knackerli, work in small batches so that the chocolate disks don't set before you've had a chance to garnish them. For Halloween, you can add candy corn kernels or make ghosts using white chocolate and dark chocolate chips.

Nutritional analysis per 16-ounce candy: 80 calories, 1 gram protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 3.5 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 0 milligrams sodium.