This recipe is a spin off and was inspired by chef Michael Voltaggio’s Smoked Carrots with Coffee Mole Dirt recipe that he did on Food Network’s Guy’s Ranch Kitchen ( a chocolate sort of competition show). His version of the dirt is more chocolatey than mole. I added 8 ingredients to his recipe to make it taste closer to mole. The chef Voltaggio used a pellet grill to cook the carrots. You can do that if you want. I just roasted my carrots. This recipe makes far more Mole dust than needed. You can cut the recipe to make less but it is so darn delicious that you might want to use it on all kinds of things. I keep my extra in the freezer. I think it would be an amazing topping for brownies too! Serving size is difficult to judge. I like smaller side servings so for me this makes around 4 servings plus a lot extra mole dust.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups almond flour

7 Tablespoons butter – melted

3/4 cup flour

3 + 1/3 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 + 1/3 Tablespoons cocoa nibs (lightly crushed)

2 Tablespoons smoked paprika

1 guajillo dried pepper – seeds & stem removed, ground up in spice grinder

1 negro dried pepper – seeds & stem removed, ground up in spice grinder

1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder

1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

pinch cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon granulated onion

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 + 1/2 lb carrots (peel if not organic) You can cut or leave whole but timing in the oven will differ

alderwood salt to taste

ground pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lime zest and juice

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

Set the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix together the sugar, almond flour, butter, flour, cocoa, cocoa nibs, smoked paprika, guajillo pepper, negro pepper, chipotle powder, mild chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, granulated onion, granulated garlic and salt. Mix well. This mixture goes on silicon lined baking sheets. This goes in for 15 minutes, take them out and stir them up. Put them back in for another 15 minutes or until they smell very fragrant. Let them rest on the counter.

Set the oven to 425 degrees F

Zest the lime and keep the zest to the side.

Get the carrots on a baking sheet. Spray the carrots well with oil. Squeeze fresh lime juice all over the carrots. Sprinkle the carrots with the smoked salt and black pepper to taste. (timing will differ ….I had large carrots and mine took around 25 minutes on one side then I flipped them and they took another 20 minutes.

While your carrots are cooking mix together the sour cream and lime zest. Set it to the side or refrigerate.

Sprinkle the carrots with the mole dust. You can drizzle the sour cream with lime zest or serve on the side. I added a little fresh cilantro.

ENJOY!

A special THANKS!!!! To chef Michael Voltaggio for his FORKING great recipe so I could do what I came up with!