Gluten Free, Dairy Free Homemade Dark Chocolate

Last week a wonderful thing happened to me! I was browsing Pinterest (have I ever mentioned how much I am thankful for Pinterest??) and found an amazing recipe. It is a 3 ingredient, no cook, takes 5 minutes to prep recipe for HOMEMADE dairy and gluten free dark chocolate! *Claps hands and jumps up and down excitedly* :)

I. Love. Chocolate. A Lot. When I realized how much dairy negatively affected my body, I thought I could never have chocolate again. BUT then I learned about the wonderfulness of dark chocolate. Growing up we never had dark chocolate in the house. This was all before the huge dark chocolate craze began. Before all the health benefits were made known to the world. Before it was made clear how much healthier dark chocolate is than it's sugar filled companions. It took some time before I fell in love with the rich, dark smoothness and prefered it over the milk filled sweeter kind, but once I fell... I fell hard. I would never go back to milk chocolate even if I could. I typically choose the 60%-70% darkness as it's not quite so slap-you-in-the-mouth dark but just right.

You can find the original recipe here. Please check her out and give her some love! There are a handful of bloggers that I usually follow and find tons of great recipes I can incorporate into my diet. This was the first time I had ever come upon this website, and I have to confess I'm really excited to poke around more to see what delicious goodies I can find. I basically used her recipe but changed a couple small details, so all credit goes to her!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Homemade Dark Chocolate
(Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, grain free, refined sugar free, Vegetarian, can be Vegan if not using honey)
Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 2-3 Tbs sugar free pancake or maple syrup, regular pancake or maple syrup, or honey

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into a small bowl and stir together until smooth and no lumps remain.
2. Pour mixture into a mold, ice cube trays, or even into a mini cupcake pan. (I got my mold at Ikea. If you do not live near an Ikea, you can also get them on ebay. Look here for some options.)
3. Place immediately into freezer.
4. Once chocolate is hardened, pop out of container and place in a freezer bag. Best stored in the freezer.

Notes

-When these first reach their hardened state, they are a darker brown color, but the longer they stay in the freezer they become lighter brown. This does not affect the taste at all. They are still just as rich and delightful!

-If these are not sweet enough for you, feel free to add some stevia or other sweetener of choice to your preference.

-This chocolate has a mild coconut taste, but it is not overwhelming.

-Coconut oil can be pricey, but if you buy it online and use it wisely it can be a great addition to your pantry!

-As with all foods, consume in moderation. Cocoa and Coconut oil in excess can cause some stomach issues.

Nutrition Facts:

(per piece with 3 Tbs sugar free pancake syrup)

Cals-60, Fat-6.4g, Carbs-1.3g, Pro-0.4g

(per piece with 2 Tbs. honey)

Cals-69, Fat-6.4g, Carbs-4.2g, Sugar-2.8g. Pro-0.5g