Recipe REVIEW: Homemade Chocolate

There comes a time in every girl's life when she has to put aside all distractions, phone calls, family members, facebook, and well, everything else just to grab a 30 second vacation. There's just something about slipping a piece of smooth, creamy chocolate into your mouth that can't take you away better than Calgon ever did. There's just something about chocolate that makes a girl's heart happy. Even my 4 year old daughter has a special place in her heart for chocolate.

So when I came across a recipe for homemade chocolate, and it came during a time when I needed some chocolate, I was excited to see the ingredients were in my pantry and the steps to making the chocolate were easy. Two very important things for this busy mama.

I have been attempting healthier, carb friendly, Paleo-tastic recipes for chocolate lately, and I haven't been too impressed. I tried making chocolate pudding the other day that didn't involve an avocado, and it just wasn't doing it for me. But this recipe, the one I found for homemade chocolate was great. I changed the ingredients just a tad, mostly because I didn't have specifically what the recipe called for, but it came out great. I then decided to expand the recipe a little bit. And I'm super excited, now, to share with you how you, too, can make chocolate that is going to hit the spot and not leave you sad when you jump on the scale a little later.

Please, please, please check out the original recipe and so many other wonderful tasty treats at "In the Kitchen with Amy Jo." She is a girl after my low-carb, Paleo heart.

Here's my adapted recipe:

Homemade Chocolate

 Ingredients: 
* 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder {Her recipe called for raw cacao powder. Here's a link to a discussion about the difference between cocoa and cacao powders} 
* 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted at room temperature {coconut oil will do this on its own in hot weather}
* 1/3 cup raw, local dark honey. If you use light honey, you can go up more. Dark honey, to me, is super strong, and I didn't want the sweet to overpower the chocolate.
* salt, just a pinch will do

That's it? Uh huh. That is it. For reals. 

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the cocoa powder and the salt. Use a fork to make sure there are no clumps. 
2. Stir in the melted coconut oil. Stir until smooth. 
3. Stir in the honey. Stir until smooth. 
4. Pour into a parchment lined bowl or container. The thicker you want the chocolate, the deeper the container. 
5. Place container with the chocolate in it in the freezer. Freezer for at least one hour. 
6. Once solid, break into chunks and store in the freezer. Grab a piece when you just really need one. 

OPTIONS: 

1. To lower the sugar intake even more, melt 1/3 cup of coconut sugar in the melted coconut oil. Add mixture to dry ingredients, pour, and freeze. 
2. Add other ingredients. The second time I made this I did a few things differently. 
1. I poured the mixture into two clean ice trays. 
2. In one ice tray, I added some other ingredients before freezing. 
1. I chopped up a Tbsp of coffee beans and put into four compartments in the ice tray. 
2. I put a few craisins in four compartments in the ice tray. 
3. I added a tsp of peanut butter into six of the compartments in the ice tray. 
4. I ran out of dried strawberries, but that will go in the next time I make the chocolate. 

My "Official" Review

Now this is the part where I tell you if it was easy to make, if I liked the taste, and if it made me full. This isn't a meal, so I obviously can't answer the last question, but since this is a review, I'm going to answer these anyway. 

Was it easy to make? Yes, Very easy. It takes only a few minutes to mix together the ingredients. The hardest part was waiting. Oh the torture. 

How did it taste? So. Very. Good. I was surprised. All the other "healthy, homemade chocolate" recipes really had me going, "Eh, I mean, it's okay." This? No, this was instantly a winner. 

Did it make me full? In a sense, it did. When I need chocolate, it's not like I need a TON. Most times if I can just get a little piece, it can hold me over for a good while {unless, of course, I'm having a really bad day, and in that case, two or three pieces will do}. I like that I decided to use the ice trays. That keeps me honest. If I keep running back to the freezer to grab another piece of chocolate, I feel convicted an awful lot sooner than if I were to just keep hacking away at chunks. 

Check out below the pics of my chocolate experiments, and give it shot yourself. You won't regret it. 

Serving sizes 

I don't think this one mixed very well. That shiny stuff is honey. Still edible, though. Yum. 

From left to right: Peanut butter, craisins, and coffee beans 

Store those girls in a freezer ziplock bag and put them away...well, after you grab one or two first. 

Making My Own Coconut Flour

If you are looking for a low carb recipe or something for your Paleo diet, you are almost always going to run across the ingredients almond flour and coconut flour. At first, you look frantically everywhere thinking for sure grocery stores carry such items. Then you realize, not always, and if they do, it's normally really pricey. The only thing I found close to me was Bob's Red Mill Flour I can purchase at Big Lots or, if I have a sharp eye, at Publix or Bi-Lo. I decided, although it is nice to have a back up bag, I really should just make my own. 

This week I experimented with making my own coconut flour. The process itself is really not all that hard. It can be a bit time consuming,  but other than that, it's really easy. The hardest step I found was trying to find unsweetened coconut flakes, dried or not dried. I looked e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, well, everywhere within a 30  mile radius. I'm sorry. I'm not driving 45 minutes to an hour away just to pick up a bag of unsweetened coconut. You can find sweetened coconut flakes everywhere. And you can still use it, but it adds carbs to your meals and unnecessary sugar that causes your body to crave more and more...and, yes, even more. I actually found some unsweetened coconut by accident. I was checking out prices on frozen berries at my favorite grocery store, Piggly Wiggly {"I'm Stickin' with The Pig"..."Local Since Forever"...yada yada}, when I saw small bags of unsweetened coconut, two bags for $3. I was so stinkin' excited!   So I figured it was a small enough amount that I could experiment on and NOT break the bank. And it worked out swimmingly. 

I made coconut flour two ways. Depending on what you have in your kitchen or what kind of time you are working on, you can make your own coconut flour for your meals. And as my daughter says, "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy". 

Homemade Coconut Flour

What's on the bottom is all but 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour
that I paid around 10 BUCKS for. The top half is all but 1 cup
 of my homemade coconut flour that cost me only 3 to make. 

 Step 1: Drying the flakes 

Method 1: Dehydrator 

1. Line your dehydrator with parchment paper. If your dehydrator doesn't have hundreds of little slats your coconut can fall through, then lucky you! 
2. Spread out the coconut in as much of a single layer as possible. 
3. Turn on your dehydrator and go about your day. 

This is a small batch and got me a little less than half a cup,
which is fine since most of the recipes I use are right around 1/2 cup of coconut flour. 

When I did this method, I did only one sheet, and it took about 8-10 hours for the flakes to dry. Honestly, if you are going to do it this way, I would prep it, turn it on, and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you can quickly grind the flour and make some pancakes or muffins or something delicious. 

Method 2: Cookie Sheet

1. Turn your oven on LOW, between 170-200. I started mine at 170, but about an hour later, bumped it up to 200, and there it stayed until the end. 
2. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a cookie sheet. 
3. Bake for 2-3 hours. After the first 1 1/2 hours, I started checking every 15-20 minutes. You don't want to BAKE the coconut, you just want to dry it. And my experience with coconut is once it starts baking, it can cook FAST. 

This method is ideal if you are going to be home working around the house anyway. I worked in the yard, gardening, while my coconut was drying. I had the windows open so I could hear the timer go off every 20 minutes. It forced me to come inside, check the coconut, and drink some water before heading back outside. 

Step 2: Grinding the Dried Coconut

Now that your unsweetened coconut is dried, the rest of the process takes only about 2 minutes. 

1. Dump your dried coconut into your blender, Vitamix {if you are lucky enough to have one...which makes me super duper jealous}, or your Magic Bullet. 
2. Pulse the coconut. I pulse and then shook the container, then pulsed again. Coconut has oils in it that can cause all your hard work to clump together. So I just shake it a little between pulses to make sure everything stays separated. 
3. Keep blending until the coconut flakes become a fine powder and then STOP. If you keep going, you can make coconut butter, which I'm sure is delicious, and something I plan on trying next time, but it's not going to help you make your pancakes. 

That's it! Just dry and grind. "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!" 

I have kicked around the idea of purchasing some dried unsweetened coconut flakes in bulk online. I can use the coconut flakes, not ground up as a flour, to make all kinds of things, such as these Coconut Nested Eggs {see picture below}. I'm just not sure if it will save me money or if it all comes out the same. 

This is really just 1 egg, 1/4 cup of unsweetened dried coconut flakes,
and about 15 minutes of your time. I love, love, love this recipe.
 I made 12 in my large muffin tin. Each family member got two with a slice of bacon,
and the kids fought over who was going to get an additional egg. Win-Win.  

And if you are looking for a recipe using coconut flour, here's one I made this morning for breakfast: Lemon Coconut Flour Pancakes

I didn't have any lemon extract, so these were more "Cinnamon Coconut Flour Pancakes", but after making the batter I realized I could have used lemon zest. So next time....

I served these pancakes with frozen berries, a little LOCAL bee pollen,
and some powdered sugar. On my pancakes, I omitted the powdered sugar
and added about a Tablespoon of homemade whipped cream. Super yummy. 

100 Calorie Brownie with Coconut Whipped Topping {a review}

Chocolate....mmm....comfort food for my woman's soul. As much as I love chocolate, I know that more than just a piece of dark chocolate a day is not necessarily going to help me lose/maintain my weight. But because I have such a sweet tooth, and I'm normally craving chocolate like it's my life support, I have been trying to find acceptable, healthier options that meet my sweet tooth craving, but won't sabotage my efforts to live a healthier life.

My secret to success? Coconut. Yeah, yeah. I know I'm pretty sure I jumped on this band wagon, but experimenting with coconut the past few weeks has been interesting. I started adding coconut water to my smoothies. I bought up a bunch of cans of coconut milk at Big Lots and have been using the milk in my coffee, oatmeal, and other desserts. Here's the kicker: I don't really like coconut. Well, "imitation" coconut. It always smells like suntan lotion, and it's normally a turn off for me. I do know, though, that I'm coming to like this stuff, adding it here and there. Check the links below for other recipes where coconut is a factor. 

NOW back to chocolate {and really the reason why so many of you are reading this}. 

I found a recipe for 200 Calorie Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae on Pinterest {as I was looking for a way to make coconut whipped topping}, and since it was one of my favorite librarian's birthday, what better way to celebrate than to make brownies that won't make you feel like you have to hit the treadmill for 2 hours? 

We didn't make the hot fudge, the banana soft serve ice cream, or add the cherries, but check the link above for all those recipes. 

Here's the recipe for the brownie and the whipped topping: 

The brownie was in the shape of a rose. I have this nifty muffin tin from Williams-Sonoma...but I don't think they sell them anymore. :{ 

100 Calorie Brownie with Coconut Whipped Topping {all credit is due to Back to Her Roots}

Ingredients: 

Brownie: 

• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce {I made my own since I didn't have any at the house}
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup egg whites {about 4}
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cups sugar

Whipped Topping: 

• *1 can whipped topping, not lite {see NOTE below}
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 

Directions: 

Brownie: 

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. 
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together applesauce, vanilla, and egg whites until well combined. 
3. Add flour, cocoa, salt, and sugar until just combined. 
4. Pour in muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes. 

Whipped Topping: 

1. Carefully open the cold can of coconut milk {say that 3x fast} without shaking or stirring. Spoon out the top white portion, leaving the coconut water on the bottom. 
2. Whip coconut cream on high in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes
3. Add in confectioner's sugar and mix for another 2 minutes. 

Assembly: {Uh...duh? But I'll add this anyway}

Once the muffins have cooled, add the coconut whipped topping on top. Eat. Each brownie is roughly 100 calories. 

NOTE: 

The recipe called for a closed can of cold coconut milk which you open when you are ready to mix. After trying out a few "whipped coconut" recipes, I have found the best way to utilize this is to gently open the can of coconut milk the night before and then place in the fridge. For some reason, this helps solidify the milk faster. The can I used for this recipe didn't have the milk and water separate, but I whipped it up anyway. I had to add a little more powdered sugar to thicken the topping enough that it would actually stay on the brownie. 

Other "Coconut" recipes I have tried: 

1. Chocolate Frosting Shots
2. Make Ahead Oatmeal Smoothies
3. Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal {I must say I have made this with and without coconut milk. The coconut milk made this SUPER thick, and I'm not sure I really like it too much.}
4. Crockpot Pumpkin Oatmeal {I had to actually add a little more honey to it, and then it tasted like pumpkin pie oatmeal. These were super thick and froze well for smaller individual servings}
5. Muffin Tin Smoothies
6. Avocado Chocolate Pudding