Clodhoppers à la maison


Clodhoppers simply appeared one holiday season. They snuck in from the drizzly cold of a Coquitlam Christmas tucked under the arm of a guest. I imagine they were wrapped in the reindeer/snowmen/Santa print of the season or perhaps jammed between a cheese ball and turkey sausage behind the rose-tinted cellophane lens of one of those food baskets that everyone receives and no one eats and whose best-before dates make them inadvisable to re-gift.

However they got there, I arrived to find those Clodhoppers staring up from one of numerous candy bowls strategically placed at various snack points throughout the house.* They didn't last long. In the years that followed, they've made a habit of dropping in and slipping out early -- before half the family has even arrived for Christmas dinner.

They're ridiculously simple to make and highly addictive to eat. A dandy or dangerous combination, depending on your point of view. If you’re planning on sharing them with friends and family, then bag them just as soon as they're cool. Otherwise you may find yourself in the same predicament as I did: with a lot of half-filled bags and a bellyache while making batch no. 2.

* One of the first things people notice after spending any length of time at my parents' place is the sheer volume and variety of snacks available at every turn.

Clodhoppers

4 cups Golden Grahams cereal, crushed roughly
1 cup roasted cashews, chopped roughly and salted if you like
2 cups chocolate (dark, milk or white), chopped roughly

Line a baking sheet with greased parchment paper or tinfoil.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. (Alternatively, you can place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan to simulate a double boiler, just so long as the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.)

Meanwhile, mix the Golden Grahams cereal and cashews together in a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate and stir quickly to coat the nuts and cereal evenly.

Spread the mixture thinly over the prepared cooking sheet and chill until set. Break into small chunks and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

In my second batch, I added a generous tablespoon of peanut butter to the melted milk chocolate for a tasty riff on the original.

Notes: Clodhoppers are a Canadian treat with a neat backstory.

Source: This recipe is posted all over the place online.

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