I know, I know. The holidays are over. No more baking. No more candy. January is the time when we’re supposed to cut back on this sort of thing. But these aren’t so bad for you. I swear! And let’s just say you have some dark chocolate hanging around in a cabinet somewhere, leftover from holiday baking. Let’s just say you’re craving a little nibble of chocolate with your evening cup of tea, glass of wine, milk – whatever. These dark chocolate squares have pretty decent nutritive value, compared with other treats. The kick from the cayenne is really nice (and a pleasant surprise to those unsuspecting guests who like a little heat). It’s so easy, you don’t really need a recipe. Here’s one anyway, just to give you an idea.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted pistachios
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate chips slowly, at low heat, stirring frequently either in the microwave or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water or whatever method you prefer. Once it’s nice and smooth add the teaspoon of cayenne pepper and stir until well incorporated.
2. Pour and spread the chocolate out evenly onto a piece of wax paper and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and cranberries. Let it cool and then cut into squares.

See? Easy. Just one word of advice. If you cooled it fast in the refrigerator or freezer, let it come back up to room temperature before you attempt to cut it. Otherwise it just might break into various shapes and sizes instead of neat little squares. This is a lesson I learned the hard way.