CHOCOLATE CRACKLES- REPRESENTING AUSTRALIA ON UNITED NATIONS DAY (AKA so popular I don't even have photos to show you!)

Due to my diagnosis, I have been unable to participate in the day-to-day running around with L to nursery school and so on, let alone to enjoy some of the more momentous occasions of the past few months, such as his first day there. So, as you can well imagine, I was ecstatic to hear from my husband that the entire nursery school (or “dagis” as it’s known in Sweden) would be having a celebration in honour of United Nations Day and that, as I no longer need to be on strict bed rest, I could attend. As an afterthought my husband casually mentioned that L’s teacher had said parents could contribute a plate of food representing their cultural heritage “… if they want to…”
Are you freakin’ kidding me? Of course I want to! I was made for this kind of thing!
It was all a bit last-minute, however. So I had to think about something I could throw together that was typically Australian, fast, easy to make and, most importantly, yummy. The answer came quickly: chocolate crackles! They don’t even require baking!
When I arrived at the UN Day event, all the food parents had contributed was already laid out on a verrry long row of benches in the park. I spied my crackles somewhere in the middle and secretly hoped that they would not be left sitting there, untouched, pitiful and rejected. I need not have feared. They went so fast that I didn’t even have the opportunity to take a photo of them! L adored them and went back for more, which of course warmed my heart (though not as much as his excitement to simply have me there with him). Within less than half an hour of this massive afternoon tea getting underway, my crackles had all but gone. Then I noticed that part of one poor crackle had fallen out of its cupcake case (or perhaps the mouth of the kid who bit into it) and landed on the edge of someone else’s completely unrelated dish. I happened to glance over just at the exact moment a little girl spotted it, took it and, without pause for thought about hygiene, popped it in her mouth. I couldn’t help but smile. My crackles were entirely consumed. My crackles were a success. I had done Australia proud!

AUSSIE CHOCOLATE CRACKLES
Prep Time: 15-20 Min, Cook Time: 0 Min
INGREDIENTS:
200 g chocolate (I used a mix of dark and milk chocolate)
100 g unsalted butter
100 g crispy rice cereal (I used Rice Bubbles)
75 ml desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
3 tbsp syrup/honey (I used a light golden syrup)
DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange cupcake cases in a cupcake tray and set aside (small-sized cases work best).
2. Place cereal and coconut in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Melt chocolate and butter together then add honey/syrup and stir quickly to ensure chocolate mixture is smooth and completely blended.
4. Stir chocolate mixture into cereal and blend thoroughly.
5. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into cupcake cases.
6. Place in freezer for 10 minutes uncovered or leave in fridge until set.
7. Serve at room temperature.
8. Store remaining crackles in airtight container in the freezer for up to 5 days.

*There are so many possibilities with this recipe, including omitting the coconut and syrup and melting down Mars Bars in place of the regular chocolate… think about it!
* The original chocolate crackles of my youth in Australia contained copha, which I have never seen here in Sweden. I think the recipe above is extremely flexible and definitely easy to “veganise” with the use of vegan chocolate, syrup and coconut fat/vegetable based shortening or margarine.