OK! I had never even heard of these until 27th November. They appeared in the Irish Times Magazine courtesy of Marie-Claire Digby. She describes them as chocolate discs topped with dried fruit and nuts.
So as I explained earlier 3rd December was the Irish Foodies Cookalong, but I wasn’t doing any cooking that day, so my contribution was chocolate making!
I made these Mendiants. According to Marie-Claire Digby each piece of fruit or nut used on the topping depicts one of the four monastic orders! The colours of the fruits and nuts reflect the colours of their habits.
I can’t remember the last time I tried to make chocolates – a long number of years ago! It was after a wonderful weekend at Dunworley Cottage in Cork where Otto Kunz had shown us how to make chocolate truffles!
These chocolates are just so simple to make!
I didn’t quite abide by those rules. I just used what fruit and nuts I had in the house!
Melt dark (or you could use milk or white) chocolate and smear in a circle on greaseproof paper. Top with chopped up fruit and nuts – I used a combination of apricots, raisins, sultanas, crystalised ginger and pistachios. Chill in fridge for a couple of hours. They don’t last too long once the come out of the fridge!
I also tried sprinkling some sea salt on a few…. these turned out to be the nicest of all.
The chocolate I used was 70% but I will defer to Gillian at SomeSayCocoa for advice on the best chocolate to use!
A Year In Redwood 
chocloates vanished rapidly