Mon Chéri Cocoa Bites
No-bake cocoa dough pressed around a dried sour cherry. Built at home, carried in a bag.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 2.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 150
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | toasted dry in a skillet at home, 8 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1/2 cup | softened; done at home, not in camp |
| Powdered sugar | 3/4 cup | |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 1/3 cup | the darker the better, it carries the whole flavor |
| Dried sour cherries | 1/2 cup | or dried Amarena cherries if you find them |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Water or cherry juice | 2 to 3 tbsp | only enough to bring the dough together |
Method
- At home, toast the flour dry in a skillet over medium heat until it smells like biscuits. Raw flour is not safe to eat and this is a no-bake cookie. Cool it completely.
- Beat the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt together until it looks like frosting. Work in the cooled flour.
- Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds a pinch without cracking. Stop there. Too wet and it will not keep.
- Take a heaped tablespoon, flatten it, set a dried cherry in the middle, and close the dough around it. Roll it smooth.
- Chill for an hour so they firm up, then pack. They are done. Nothing happens at camp except eating them.
The original is a Romanian shortbread cookie baked around a boozy cherry. Baking is not happening on trail, so this is the same three flavors, cocoa, butter, and sour cherry, assembled as a no-bake dough at home. The flour gets toasted first, which is not optional: raw flour carries the same risk as raw egg, and toasting also gives the dough a nutty backbone it would otherwise lack.
Fat and sugar are what make this worth its weight, roughly 420 calories in two bites. The dried cherry replaces the jam or liqueur-soaked fruit in the original; it stays acidic enough to cut through the butter, and unlike jam it will not weep through the dough on day three.
Packing
Two per person in a small rigid container or a crush-proof corner of the food bag. They soften in heat but do not melt into a mess. Good for about five days out, longer in cool weather.
Variations
- Swap the butter for coconut oil and they go vegan and dairy-free.
- Roll the finished balls in more cocoa or in powdered sugar so they do not stick together.
- A spoonful of instant espresso in the dough darkens the cocoa considerably.
https://savoriurbane.com/fursecuri-mon-cheri-inimioare-cu-crema-de-ciocolata-si-dulceata-de-visine-cirese-amarena