Today I’m sharing a quick, easy gift idea for you to package up and give to your friends and family this year: dried figs covered in dark chocolate and sprinkled with flaky sea salt. Simple, yes, but they’re so incredibly fun to make and eat. Plus, dried fruit is an old-school, nostalgic, comforting Christmas gift; people are happy to receive it even if they can’t quite put to words why. 
I almost didn’t share this recipe with you because it is so, so simple. I was making these on Monday to gift to a few coworkers, and decided to show the process on my Instagram stories. I got lots of responses from people saying how much they loved the recipe and needed more simple homemade gift ideas, so I figured I’d take some pictures along the way and share them with you ASAP.
These humble dried figs transform into an elegant, special holiday gift when they get chocolate-dipped and sea salt-studded. Though, to be fair, there are few things that don’t benefit from a slather of chocolate and a touch of salt. All you need to do after the chocolate hardens is tuck these into a little box or bag with a gift tag and some ribbon, and you’ve got a cute handmade gift to stuff into stockings and hand out to passersby everywhere you go. 
My favorite part about this treat, other than the minimal effort for maximum reward, is how all three ingredients meld together in each bite. The dark chocolate forms a thin, crispy shell that crackles when you bite into it. Crisp chocolate yields to the soft center of the sticky fig (full of crunchy, pop-in-your-teeth seeds!!), and a little hint of salty goodness to balance it all out. Despite being mostly just dried fruit, these little gems look and taste like an elegant treat.
You really don’t need a recipe for these salted dark chocolate figs. Melt chocolate, dip figs into it, and sprinkle the edges with flaky salt. Set them on a parchment-lined pan to harden, then package them up however you want. Heck, you might just want to keep them all for yourself or use them as a fun holiday table centerpiece. There’s no wrong way to enjoy this simple, festive treat. 
Need more gift ideas? Package up some Dark Chocokate Hazelnut Butter Cups, Homemade Granola, and Peanut Butter Balls (maybe dipped in chocolate?) for quick, easy, edible homemade gifts. Or check out my gift guide if store-bought is more your style!
If you make these chocolate coated figs, let me know! Leave a comment below or take a picture and share it with me on Facebook or Instagram. Happy gifting, friends!
Salted Chocolate Covered Figs
Ingredients
- 8-10 Large Dried Figs*
- 5 oz Dark Chocolate chopped (or about 3/4 cup chocolate chips)
- Flaky sea salt for coating
Instructions
- 1. Line a plate or small pan with parchment paper. Snip the small, hard stem off the tip of each fig. Use both hands to re-shape your figs into teardrop shapes, if they're flattened.
- 2. Place chocolate into a microwave safe container and microwave on high in 30 second intervals until chocolate is almost completely melted. Then, stir well to let the rest of the chocolate melt from the residual heat without burning.
- 3. Dip each fig into the chocolate until almost completely submerged. Transfer figs to the parchment-lined pan, and sprinkle generously with salt. When all figs have been dipped, transfer to the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up the chocolate (or let them sit at room temperature for 30-50 minutes, til hard). Transfer figs to preferred gift box/bag, or to an airtight container. These keep well at room temperature for up to a month,
Notes
Is it wrong that I want to wrap up a pretty little package of these figs and gift them to myself?