My Homemade Healthy "Chocolate"

We pause now (from all the quilting/sewing) for a station identification. ;-)

Or, at least to share with you my own way of making dark chocolate. Technically it can not be called chocolate because it doesn't have cocoa butter and whatever else is required for it to be officially chocolate. But I love it. And this is DARK. 

I came up with this recipe when I was on a special healing diet where there were many things (like sugar) that were taboo. I missed chocolate, so after experimenting with things I could have, this is what I came up with.

This is made from 3 ingredients: 

2 parts coconut oil, 

4 parts cocoa powder, and 

1 part honey.  

All of these things can be stored separately in long term food storage, so that's a plus during the apocalypse or the next pandemic. And one could argue that all 3 ingredients are healthy (though some argue that chocolate is not, I'll side with those that say cocoa is).

Note: once made, it must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer because coconut oil melts at room temperature.

I am making a lot here, which I then keep in the freezer, but it can be made in any size batch.

First is the 2 parts coconut oil. I'm using Tropical Traditions' Gold Label, but it works with any food quality coconut oil.

I put it in a pan and heat until warm.

It does not need to boil, just be melted and warm. However, if it does begin to boil, no harm done. It will just take longer to cool (and if you are using raw honey, it will kill all the wonderful enzymes).

Next add 4 parts cocoa powder. My favorite is from CocoaSupply.com, the Royal Mahogany cocoa powder, but here again, whatever you have will work. I'm just spoiled after eating this amazing stuff.

Dump in the 4 parts cocoa powder and mix. I'm mixing with a small whisk to get all the lumps out. 

 

This particular brand of cocoa powder tends to have a lot of chunks, but the heat of the coconut oil helps them dissolve and mixes up well.

Once it's all smooth, it's time for the honey.

This is the honey I used this time, (from Sam's Club) but any honey will work. Raw honey just has some amazingly good healing characteristics that I would recommend to make this the healthiest.

Add 1 part honey. Whisk until smooth. Again, with the warm mixture, this is easier than if using cold ingredients. (Been there, done that.)

Once it is mixed well, it is ready to cool. I have some candy molds that work super well. I spread it out in the mold on a tray and put in the freezer until hardened. Then I can pop them out and store then in a container with a lid or a ziploc bag. 

If you don't have handy-dandy candy molds, you can line a pan with either a silicon mat or parchment paper and spread a layer out. Then freeze and break into bite size pieces when frozen. This way gets a bit messy because as you break them up, your warm hands immediately begins to melt the chocolate. But it still works. That's what I did for a long time.

Remember, this melts at room temperature, so don't leave out on the counter or hold a pile in your hand unless you like chocolate soup. Tasty, but messy. Chocolate does stain.