Sparkle Kitchen: Autumn Acorn Treats
Look at those sweet little treats! Just the thing you’d find at a Martin & Sylvia's Fairy Ball.
I wish I could say that I thought up this loveliness. But I didn’t. I adapted it straight from Martha Stewart Magazine’s November edition. I immediately dog-eared the page, and went out the next day to buy the ingredients. And then I enlisted the help of my young chef (see below!). You can find Martha’s recipe on her site, right here.
They are not difficult to make. I promise. I don’t enjoy complicated projects — I was even intimidated by the idea of melting chocolate chips! So, you can believe me when I say “quite easy."
We adapted the recipe to use almond butter, and they are delicious. We took a plateful to some friends’ for dinner one evening, and all the little squirrels around the table couldn’t get enough of their acorn desserts.
Autumn Acorn Treats
Ingredients ¾ cup creamy almond butter 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 6 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate (we used Ghirardelli’s) a small bag of mini pretzels
Directions With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and almond butter, until well combined. Add the sugar and mix. Finish forming the nut butter dough with your hands. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Once the “dough” is cold and firm, use your hands to roll “acorns”. To make the acorn shape, flatten one end while making the other end a bit pointy. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet or large plate, and refrigerate again for 30 minutes — until they are firm.
Now, melt the chocolate. You can use a double boiler, or do like we did, and put the chocolate in a small pot, which we placed in a larger pot of simmering water.
Take an acorn, insert a toothpick into the pointed tip, and dip the flattened end into chocolate. Place it gently on the wax paper and remove the toothpick. To add the “stem”, push a pretzel piece into the chocolate-dipped end.
Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 2 hours.
We were all impressed with how they turned out. So cute and SO tasty.
Perfect for your Hallow’s Eve festivities!
Or for an afternoon when you want to do something fun and playful with the young chefs in your house. My youngest son made all sorts of confections with the leftover dough, melted chocolate, pretzels, and other ingredients he pulled (sliced almonds, dried cranberries, dried bananas). It was a delightful afternoon in the kitchen!
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About the Author
Lisabeth Sewell
Lisabeth Sewell has worn many hats at Sparkle over the years, from Sparkle Kitchen Blogger to Editorial Director to Doer of All Odd Jobs. Her primary role is as CEO.
