Tiny Fruit and Nut Bars – DIY Sweethearts
Perhaps you remember those iconic Valentine’s day candies that come in a pink box—you know, the chalky, heart-shaped candies with tiny phrases printed on them. I love the idea, but don’t love the ingredients. So, I came up with a handcrafted version with similar charming messages, but this time the sweets are made with only real food ingredients like nuts, seeds, dried fruit and culinary herbs.
Giving out these delicious snacks is always a hit, especially with the customized text. What messages would you use for your crew of friends or coworkers? I love the breezy feeling of the Katniss style for these sweets, and I especially love all the color options! Pictured here is the Katniss style in peach, grapefruit, pale pink, peony, deep coral, radiant orchid, and lilac in the small circle shape (size 28), but lots of different sizes will do, depending on how large you make your sweets.
The recipe below is generic, but foolproof because you get a chance to try the combo in the middle of making it, so you can make adjustments as needed. For this recipe you’ll need a clean cast-iron meat grinder.
- 3 cups nuts
- 1 cup coconut or ¼ cup seeds
- 10-12 dates
- ½ – 1 cup dried fruit (optional, if using add fewer dates)
- 1 – 6 teaspoons spices
- dash (or two) salt
- [img src=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FNSGrinderVert.jpg” width=”680″ height=”907″ class=”alignnone size-full” title=”Tiny Fruit and Nut Bars – DIY Sweethearts | Evermine Blog | www.evermine.com”][/url]
- With your cast iron meat grinder attached to a sturdy table or a countertop, arrange your ingredients close to the mouth of the grinder. Fill the mouth of the grinder with a combination of nuts, coconut (if using), dried fruit and dates, grind, and fill again. When you have finished grinding most of your ingredients, place the ground combination into a large bowl, add the spices, seeds (if using) and salt and combine.
- [img src=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FNSProcessHoriz.jpg” width=”680″ height=”510″ class=”alignnone size-full” title=”Tiny Fruit and Nut Bars – DIY Sweethearts”][/url]
- Taste the mixture at this point, making sure to taste a representative sample (big chunks and dusty parts). Add what might be missing—you may need to grind up more of something—until you are happy with how the combination tastes.
- [img src=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FNSUnwrappedVert.jpg” width=”680″ height=”907″ class=”alignnone size-full” title=”Tiny Fruit and Nut Bars – DIY Sweethearts”][/url]
- Next, run your ground-up mixture through the grinder again. This step really finishes off the work of combining the ingredients and helps it all hold together. Once finished with the second grinding, press the combination into small, flat-ish cylinders, wrap in wax paper and label with messages of sweet nothings. Makes about 3 cups of compressed mixture.
- [url href=”https://www.evermine.com/labels/preview/SPKN28-66/”][img src=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FNSBlueTopVert.jpg” width=”680″ height=”907″ class=”alignnone size-full” title=”DIY Sweethearts: Mini Date and Nut Bars | Evermine Blog | www.evermine.com”][/url]
Used In This Project:
- Small Circle Labels • I chose the “Katniss” style in peach, grapefruit, pale pink, peony, deep coral, radiant orchid, and lilac.
SHOP OUR ENTIRE VALENTINE’S DAY COLLECTION >
Lorraine is a medical student, writer and food lover living in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Sometimes, Lorraine realizes that, for the most part, her family, friends and adored acquaintances are just a bike ride away. This gives her sense of cozy giddiness! Mostly though, she gets psyched about creating and sharing food, particularly the kind of food that is accidentally healthy and delicious. See more of her work at SweetAllium.
Your guide is really useful to me. in the guide use manual meatgrinder. productivity higher when you use electric meat grinder. 🙂