Nut Clusters Food

BROWN BUTTER GRANOLA CLUSTERS

Steps:

• For the brown butter: Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook, swirling the skillet to keep the butter moving around, until it melts and bubbles up, 3 to 4 minutes. When the butter is a medium golden brown, remove the skillet from the heat (it will continue browning in the skillet over the next 30 seconds or so!). Pour the butter and any solids into a bowl and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• For the toasted oats: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, toss the oats with the oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on the prepared baking sheets and bake, shaking the pans twice during the cooking time and making sure the oats don't burn, until toasted, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool a bit. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• For the clusters: In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and molasses. Stir the mixture until combined, then heat over medium heat, stirring, until barely bubbling. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the brown butter to the pan and stir.
• Toss together the toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ, cranberries, pecans, pumpkin seeds, almonds and flax seeds in a large bowl. Pour over the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!
• Line a baking sheet with foil and thoroughly spray with coconut oil spray. Tip the mixture onto the baking sheet, spread out and bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool, then use a fork to make clusters. Store in a jar until ready to use.

NUT CLUSTERS

Steps:

• Cover baking sheet with waxed paper. Pour chocolate over nuts in medium bowl; toss until nuts evenly coated with chocolate.
• Use 2 forks to drop nut mixture into 16 small clusters on prepared baking sheet.
• Refrigerate 15 min. or until firm.

CRUNCHY NUT CLUSTERS

Steps:

• Line 4 miniature muffin pans with candy cups; set them aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut and nuts on separate cookie sheets. Bake each until golden brown, about 9 minutes for the nuts and 10 for the coconut, stirring every few minutes to keep them from burning. Let them cool.
• Combine the toasted coconut and nuts in a medium-size bowl. Melt the chocolate chips -- white or semisweet -- in the microwave according to the package directions. Add the melted chocolate to the coconut mixture; stir well. Drop the mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls into the candy cups. Chill until set, about 45 minutes.
• Melt the remaining chocolate according to the package directions. Pour the contents into a ziplock bag. Snip off a small corner of the bag, then drizzle the chocolate over the clusters. Chill until the glaze is set, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

NUT CLUSTERS

Steps:

• Roast the nuts in a 350 degree oven until aromatic and lightly browned.
• Depending on the nut's it could be 5-12 mins Melt the chocolate with the oil and coffee in a double boiler over low heat.
• The water should not touch the pan and shouldn't be over 160 degrees f.
• Remove the chocolate as it starts to melt and stir, the ambient heat should be enough to finsih melting it.
• If not return to heat for a couple minutes.
• This can be done in a microwave if you stop it every 15 seconds to stir.
• Stir chocolate until it's, add nuts, drop onto sheets of wax paper with a heaping measuring teaspoon.
• Let cure, will take 1-4 hours depending on heat and humidity.
• Note, you may have too much chocolate depending on the nuts you use.
• This amount worked well for pecans and walnuts, but was a bit too much for almonds and cashews.
• Store in an airtight container for weeks.

CAROB NUT CLUSTERS

Steps:

• Place carob chips and peanut butter in a small bowl and melt in microwave (or in a double boiler). Stir until evenly combined.
• Stir in nuts and quickly drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.
• Let set until hard. Store in refrigerator.