Chocolate Macadamia Bites

These little nibblies are so good, it's hard to stop at one.  I made them yesterday, using some macadamias I found in the freezer. Wayne's parents have a macadamia tree that fruits prolifically year after year and we are blessed with bags of nuts every year. Thankfully we all love macadamias, they seem to go so well with so many foods, as well as being delicious on their own.

Ingredients:
200g finely chopped, unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted lightly
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp almond essence
200g desiccated coconut
375g chocolate bits, melted

Method:
Put the macadamia nuts, sweetened condensed milk, almond essence and coconut in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Form teaspoonfuls of mixture into bite-sized balls and place on lined biscuit sheets or baking trays. Put trays in refrigerator to firm up for about 1 hour, or leave at room temperature to firm, which will take about 4 or 5 hours.  When balls have completely set, dip them into the melted chocolate and place them back on the tray to dry at room temperature.

Notes:   Melt the chocolate easily by placing the choc bits in a heat-resistant bowl, then placing the bowl over a pan of water that has been brought to a boil and removed from stovetop. Stir until chocolate melts, then remove bowl from hot water and continue stirring until mixture cools slightly; now it's ready to dip.

If you aren't keen on almonds or marzipan, cut the almond essence down to one teaspoon OR substitute it for your favourite flavouring, adjust the quantity accordingly.  Orange essence is very nice in these little truffles too.