Chocolate Covered Jalapeño Stuffed Olives

Lindsay Olives and Kitchen Play partnered together for the Lindsay Olives Wild Card Progressive Party. As soon as I read about it, I knew I wanted to participate. Five food bloggers came up with 5 courses of a six-course meal leaving the sixth course up to us to create. There was no beverage and no dessert so I started there. There are many beverages which incorporate olives and I love them all, but not very many desserts, although it seems to be gaining in popularity.

I really wanted to do a chocolate covered olive, but figured that it had probably been done a thousand times over. I looked around on the web and to my surprise, there really were not any recipes or articles mentioning chocolate covered olives. So...I knew I had to make them because I couldn't get them out of my head.

Lindsay Olives provided the olives, thank you Lindsay Olives! By the way, have any of you tried the Naturals line of olives yet? I had not yet, but thought they would be perfect to dip in chocolate. Look at how lovely these olives are:

Just like the can says, they are Smooth & Buttery. They are packed in water and sea salt and nothing else. Best of all, they are not stuffed with anything so you can stuff them with anything your heart desires! I chose to stuff mine with jalapeños from my mother's garden.

Here the little beauties are waiting for their chocolate bath:

Speaking of chocolate.

In my favorite little pot, we melted the chocolate with 1 tablespoon of shortening (I used Earth Balance).

After dipping the olives, we sprinkled them with kosher salt. The Naturals olives are not terribly salty as most pickled olives are, so they needed a salty component. Place them in the refrigerator to let the chocolate solidify prior to serving.

We dipped the rest of the olives without the jalapeño so that my little ones could enjoy as well. I had plenty of volunteers to be taste testers. I found these to be a delightful little bite of dessert with a good balance between sweetness and saltiness.

Chocolate Covered Jalapeno Stuffed Olives

• 1 can of Lindsay Naturals California Green Ripe Olives
• Enough pickled jalapeños to stuff the olives
• 12 squares of Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight Chocolate (or any other quality chocolate that you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon of shortening, I used Earth Balance
• Cocktail toothpicks, enough for how ever many olives you are dipping
• Kosher salt, enough for sprinkling the finished olives

1. Stuff the olives and then stick the toothpick through.
2. Slowly melt the chocolate and shortening over low heat, in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Stir frequently to prevent scorching or sticking.
3. Once chocolate is melted and smooth, dip each olive in the chocolate, gently shaking off excess chocolate. Place each olive on a parchment paper covered tray. Once all olives are dipped, sprinkle with kosher salt and place tray in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
4. Enjoy!