Chocolate Sausage & Meatballs

I obtained this simple recipe from my cousin in-law, Anna, while visiting relatives living in northern Italy. She served a chocolate sausage for dessert made using crushed cookies. Having celiac disease, she couldn’t eat the sausage. That made me think about Nestle’s chocolate bar with crisp rice. I modified the recipe using crisp rice instead of crushed cookies. This change not only makes this candy recipe gluten-free, it also reduces the number of calories. Alternatively, you can substitute any variety of chopped nuts or reduce the amount of crushed cookies or crisp rice and add chopped nuts. The number of variations are virtually unlimited.

Using Raw Egg

I’ve never had food poisoning from eating foods in Italy regardless how the food was stored like leftovers placed in an oven for over 6 hours on a hot summer day with no air conditioning, or using ingredients like a raw whole egg in this recipe.

Food safety in the United States is another issue. Americans are warmed to never leave any food out for more than 2 hours and to fully cook eggs.

If you are concerned about the safety of your eggs, you can substitute meringue powder as follows.

Substituting Meringue Power For Raw Egg

• 3 tsps. (15 ml) meringue power
• 3 tbsp. (45 ml) water

Use a whisk or fork to combine.

Special Equipment

Wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap to form sausage.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition information is for recipe made with crispy rice (220 calories). When made with cookies divide the number of calories beyond 220 by the number of servings.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (56 g) crispy rice or
• 6 oz. (170 g) cookies, crushed
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 7 tbsp. (100 g) butter, melted
• 10 tbsp (50 g) cocoa powder
• 1 large egg slightly beaten or 3 tsp. (15 ml) meringue powder
• 1 tbsp. (15 ml) rum, amaretto, or espresso

Method of Preparation