Paleo Chocolate Raspberry Jellies

I have to say it. I am not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. I have too many “favorite” holidays, and Valentines simply doesn’t make the cut. For me there is too much hype. Too much pressure for it to be an amazing day. I love laid back holidays like St. Paddy’s Day, the 4th of July and Memorial Day. No one calls you cynical if you say you don’t like St. Paddy’s Day, but mention you don’t like Valentines and suddenly you are labeled bitter. I loved reading Taylor from Taylor Made It Paleo’s post about what to do on Valentines Day if you are single. My favorites are a tie between number one and four. 

On the bright side, Valentine’s Day brings a couple positive things. The main one being chocolate. There is chocolate everywhere! Even better, it will be on sale come February 15. During my Whole30, chocolate and wine were my two biggest challenges. I love chocolate. When I was little, I was more of a vanilla girl but with age my love of chocolate has grown. I can’t think of too many things that wouldn’t be delicious dipped in chocolate. One of my favorite treats used to be these chocolate-covered raspberry jelly sticks. I could eat those all day, every day until I crashed from my sugar high. I decided to make a less sugary paleo version dipped in none other than dark chocolate!

Ingredients

6 oz organic raspberries

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
1 tbls honey, optional 

4 tbls grass-fed gelatin

4 oz 100% dark chocolate, I used ghirardelli

2 tbls raw honey

1 tbsl coconut oil

Directions

Heat raspberries and orange juice in a small skillet over medium heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until raspberries cook down. Taste and add honey if it is too tart for your preference. Pour mixture into a blender and pulse a few times until smooth. Let cool for a couple minutes. Then slowly add in gelatin and pulse a couple more times. Pour into heart molds. I love these ones.Let cool in fridge for at least 1 hour. Pop jellies out of the molds and into the freezer. 

Heat 2-inches of water in a small sauce pot until simmering. Mix chocolate, honey and coconut oil in a double boiler over the water until melted. Remove from heat. One at a time toss jelly into the chocolate mixture and coated thoroughly. Set on parchment paper to dry. Continue process until all jellies are covered. Makes 30-35 candies depending on how full you fill the molds. Store in the refrigerator.

*Jellies will stiffen up a bit in the fridge. Remove 5 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!
Vanessa