Vegan Chocolate Crackles

These Vegan Chocolate Crackles are crispy, chocolaty, and perfect for an afternoon sweet treat or evening dessert. They’re a terrific treat for holiday parties, too! Serve them on Halloween, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve! This easy to make recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free. Chocolate Crackels My dad was in the Air Force when I was…
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Chocolate Crackels

My dad was in the Air Force when I was young, and I grew up in various parts of the world. We lived in England for a few years when I was pretty small, in a little beach village on the North Sea, not too far from the base where he was stationed. We lived on the High Street, nestled between shops like the local newsagent, the Co-Op, and a small bookstore. Just a few doors down from us was a small bakery, and my mom and I would often pop in for a little afternoon snack. My favorite sweet treat was chocolate crackels, chocolatey clusters that were made with corn flakes. My mom found a used cookbook in the local thrift shop that had a similar recipe, and we would sometimes make them at home.

Chocolate crackels are a popular treat in New Zealand and Australia. They’re especially popular with kids, since they’re so easy to make. They’re often made with rice crispies, and coconut shreds are usually added to the mix. The version I loved as a child were made with cornflakes, and they didn’t contain coconut, so that’s the way I’ve made my recipe. Feel free to use puffed rice cereal instead of cornflakes, if you like.

How Do You do Cookery

Despite the many moves I’ve undergone since then, I’ve managed to hold on to that cookbook. How-Do-You-Do Cookery by Jennie Corbett is a thin hardcover, with just 30 pages, and it’s either meant for children or adults who have absolutely no experience in the kitchen. The pages are yellowed with age and stained with food, and there are notes throughout written by the previous owner, but I will never get rid of it. It was my very first cookbook, after all! I love the cat sleeping under the table on the book’s cover. My Archie would be up on the table sampling all of the dishes!

Chocolate Crackles are the first recipe in the book, in the Cakes and Scones chapter. They’re loaded with sugar and margarine. It’s a recipe I’ve wanted to veganize for quite a while now, and with the holidays not too far away, now seems like the perfect time for a chocolatey treat.

How To Make Vegan Chocolate Crackles

This recipe is really easy to make, and it comes together in just a few short steps:

First, you heat the brown rice syrup and coconut oil in a large pot and whisk them until the coconut oil has melted.
Next, you remover the pot from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and non-dairy milk.
Then, you gently fold in the corn flakes.
Finally, you scoop the mixture into muffin liners and let it set. Once it cools, you’ll have little clusters of chocolate goodness on your hands!

Sweeteners

I don’t like my chocolate to taste too sweet, but if you prefer a little sweetness, you can add 2 or 3 tablespoons of finely ground sugar to the mixture while you’re adding the cocoa powder and nondairy milk. Taste the chocolate before mixing in the cornflakes and add sweetener to your liking. I suggest using organic Sucanat (which is short for sugar cane natural) or coconut sugar. They’re less processed and contain minor amounts of nutrients. Plus, they’re not process with bone char like non-organic sugars, so they’re suitable for vegans.

The original crackles recipe calls for corn syrup, which I don’t use. I’ve replaced it with brown rice syrup, because it’s sticky and hold the clusters together well. Other liquid sweeteners, such as maple syrup and agave are too thin, and the flavor of molasses would overpower the recipe.

If you’d prefer to make smaller crackles, you’ll need about 20 mini muffin liners.