Greek Walnut-filled Chocolates (Kariokes)

Try fooodlove’s Greek Kariokes, an indulgent, walnut-filled dark chocolate treat.

20 pieces
2 hrs
242 kcal
VE

These Greek walnut-filled chocolates, or Kariokes, are a moreish delight. Kariokes, filled with the rich darkness of cocoa and a hint of brandy, are the epitome of indulgence, for me (and not just for me - they’ve been my husband’s favourite since he was a boy!). When we have friends around for supper, my take on Greek walnut crescent cookies are a perfect treat after dinner. Greek bakeries make these into perfect crescent shapes, but the easiest method I’ve found at home is to roll the mix into ‘sausage’ shapes, press to slightly flatten the bottom, and freeze them, before slicing (incidentally, that’s pretty much how I do my chocolate mosaic with halva too!).

This recipe uses Petit Beurre biscuits, but any rich, buttery and plain biscuit will do the trick here. In fact, the recipe traditionally uses up the crumbs of Vasilopita (Greek Lucky New Year’s Cake) and Melomakarona (Greek Christmas Honey Cookies); keep your eyes out for these recipes on fooodlove over the festive period, but in the meantime, a plain biscuit like a Petit Beurre is a great alternative. This hack makes for a quick and easy recipe, which nevertheless will wow at dinner parties - or you might like them so much you keep them just for you! These are the perfect treat for darker wintery days; imagine a roaring fire, a rich dinner, a glass of red wine - and then a coffee and my Kariokes for dessert. What heaven!

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Ingredients

225 g petit-beurre biscuits
220 g walnuts
80 g icing sugar
15 g cocoa powder
80 ml milk
125 g unsalted butter (melted)
20 ml brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
400 g dark chocolate

Tips

Petit-beurre biscuits are easy to find but any buttery or plain biscuits would do the trick. You can even use cake leftovers!

To make these even more flavourful, add 1 tsp of cinnamon when preparing the mixture in step two.

Kariokes can be stored in the fridge, in an air-tight container for up to 7 days.

Directions

You will need about 2 hours to make 20 pieces of this recipe, which has approximately 242 calories each. Make sure you have all the ingredients and follow these 9 simple steps. If you have any questions, send me an email and I’d be more than happy to help!

In a food processor pulse the biscuits and walnuts into pieces (do not ground them).

Add the chopped biscuits and walnuts in a large bowl, along with the melted butter, icing sugar, milk, brandy, cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Mix them with a spatula until everything is incorporated.

Spread the mixture lengthwise in a plastic wrap and give it a cylindrical shape using your hands.

Close the vertical sides of the plastic wrap covering the mixture and twist the sides to tight it up.

Freeze it for 1 hour or refrigerated for 2 hours.

Once frozen, place it on a surface and cut it into 1cm thick slices.

Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with boiling water (ensure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water), add the chopped dark chocolate and stir until its fully melted.

Using two forks, dip each piece in the melted chocolate, making sure to cover all sides.

Strain the excess chocolate and place them on a tray covered with baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Watch it step-by-step!