What started off as wanting to use up the bottom of an Artisana Coconut Butter jar has turned into a full fledged obsession. I have been using this Mesquite Cacao Spread on apple slices, rice cakes and eating it with a spoon. The caramel and carob undertones of the mesquite makes the already stellar combination of coconut and raw cacao that much more addictive. Speaking of addictive, I particularly like the combination of Lundberg Wild Rice Cakes, which are lightly salted, with this Mesquite Cacao Spread and a dollop of Kim’s Apple Cranberry Sauce. And yes, I do love cranberry with chocolate – whether in cranberry almond chocolate or a festive smoothie.
And yes, I know I could make my own nut butters, but truth be told, I do not find it that much cheaper than buying nut butter, and I do not have the patience to run the food processor for 15 or 20 minutes. And the beauty of this the Mesquite Cacao Spread is that you do not even need a food processor. As long as you have both the coconut butter and coconut oil melted, a whisk and a bowl is is all you need.
Mesquite Cacao Spread (gluten-free, vegan, soy-free)
Makes 1 cup
A note on coconut butter: I used Artisana Coconut Butter, but other brands call it creamed coconut or coconut cream concentrate: It is all the same thing and just depends who makes it. Let’s Do Organic calls it Creamed Coconut , Artisana calls it Coconut Butter, Nutiva calls it coconut manna , and Tropical Traditions calls it coconut cream concentrate. You can also make it from scratch, as did Lexie of Lexie’s Kitchen.
- 1 cup coconut butter/coconut cream/coconut concentrate, melted
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted (I like this one from Garden of Life)
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid vanilla stevia (I like NuNaturals vanilla stevia)
- 5 tablespoons raw cacao
- 1 teaspoon mesquite powder
Whisk ingredients together in a bowl until you have a rich chocolate sauce or thick spread. Spread will solidify if in a cooler room, but can easily be remelted (I use the microwave for 10-20 seconds for that).
I am submitting this recipe to the following blog events:
Diets, Desserts and Dogs Wellness Weekend
Gluten-Free Homemaker’s Gluten-Free Wednesday
and
Gluten-Free Cat’s Raw Food Thursdays (witness the adorable badge) 
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Valerie, I love this recipe!! So creative and sounds delicious! I must make a batch his weekend! Thanks for sharing it at Raw Foods Thursdays!!
This sounds like my idea of heaven! I can envision this on pancakes, muffins, rice cakes. . . oh, almost anything.
Thanks for linking to WellnessWeekend this week!
I have absolutely, more times than I should admit, stirred together nut butter, maple syrup, and mesquite, and eaten it with a spoon. This takes it to a whole ‘nother level!
Hi Valerie! I just wanted to let you know that I’m featuring this amazing spread tomorrow at Raw Foods Thursdays. Thank you so much for sharing it!!! xoxo
This is not too far off from the Chocolate Hazelnut Almond Spread I recently made. That lasted 4 days, a new record for me when consuming such products! That Artisana Coconut Butter is the most irresistible of all the coconut butter products if you ask me. Maybe making your amazing looking spread would slow me down a bit on the consumption of that, too. Slowed and heavenly consumption I’m guessing by the photo!
Shirley
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