I come to you this afternoon from my bedroom, wrapped up in a sweatshirt, house slippers on, under the covers of my bed, wondering if I have the energy to fetch another blanket to make myself an extra snuggly cocoon. That sounds delicious doesn’t it? All warm and cozy and comfy, with Little Miller at my side. The house still and quiet and clean.
Days like this deserve treats. And rainy days deserve treats. And since we’ve had so many rainy days in a row that I’ve lost count, I’m giving you this treat recipe. And because there is a string of more rainy days ahead, I know that you’ll be indoors, in your still and quiet and clean house, making treats like you deserve.
I know these sound weird — Bran Flake Snacks? I know that’s so very dietitian of me. Leave it to the dietitian to make some dessert-type thing out of a health cereal. But I’ll have you know, these flew out of the big Tupperware containers. People loved them — and I mean young people and middle-aged people alike. Bran Flake Snacks know no age. They only know of coffee lovers and chocolate lovers and coconut lovers. And if you are all three of those, you will definitely love these.
I’m only one of those (ahem, chocolate lover) and I still enjoyed this snack. And by “enjoy,” I mean that I must have eaten 10 or so of them, maybe more because it’s hard to count all the little bites, licks, and tastes that it took to make them and to perfect the flavors. And then, of course, there was the taste-testing, which had to be done while the chocolate was hot and drippy and then also after the chocolate had hardened.
I highly recommend using Trader Joe’s Bran Flakes. I’m a bran flake lover and so I’ve tried every brand out there. TJ’s have the crunchiest, nuttiest flavor, almost like they’re roasted. They go so well with dark chocolate and deep, bitter coffee. It makes these Snacks taste more like a snack and less like a cloyingly sweet dessert a la the Rice Krispie Treat.
So gather your courage and make a treat for yourself out of bran flakes. Then pat yourself on the back for getting enough fiber in your diet. And don’t be nervous to bring these round somewhere — most of my kickball team couldn’t even tell me what kind of cereal it was. All eyes will be fixated on coffee, chocolate, and coconut so that no one will even notice the bran. And the few who do will be very impressed.
Chocolate-Dipped Coffee Coconut Bran Flake Snacks
Ingredients
- 5 cups bran flakes
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 10.5- ounce bag miniature marshmallows
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 12- ounce bag Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
Instructions
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Coat a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
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In a large bowl, toss together bran flakes and coconut flakes and set aside.
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In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and vanilla, stirring constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted. Gently stir in the cereal and coconut until even-coated with marshmallow. Transfer the cereal to the prepared baking sheet and press it firmly into an even layer.
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Once the cereal is completely cooled, cut into squares or irregular pieces - up to you!
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In a double boiler, melt the chocolate wafers. Stir in the coffee granules. While the chocolate is still hot, dip about half of each cereal square or piece into the chocolate, then place on wax paper to cool. Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened, store in an airtight container.
Used in this recipe:
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