Chocolate Drops and Candy Bars

Hey y'all. I'm glad to be back in the kitchen, I've been sick!

But today I got back in there and whipped up a few things with my new goodies! First was this beautiful batch of homemade chocolate.

Never having made chocolate from scratch before, I was a bit intimidated. This was something that I had always longed to do, but never had the gumption.

It was so easy!

Recipe -
3/4 cup cocoa butter
3/4 cup cocoa (I used cacao)
1/3 cup honey
dash of vanilla
dash of salt

1. Melt cocoa butter completely. Do not leave on the stove after melted, removed it right away.

2. Add cocoa and mix thoroughly.

3. Add honey, vanilla and salt. Mix thoroughly with a whisk until smooth.

4. Pour into molds or greased glass pan and allow to cool completely*.

*The cooling process took several hours for me, even in the fridge. They will set up, but it will take a while!

I had these cute little fun-size candy bar molds which I made use of today. I mixed some dried cherries and walnuts into half of the chocolate and then spooned the mix into the molds. They turned out really well.

 

I think I'll make these with a marshmallow filling, or caramel, or almond butter... or any number of other things...

Chocolate Caramel Candy - G.A.P.S. Tootsie Roll Copy-cat

Made with full-fat butter and local honey, these candies really hit the spot when you're having a craving for something you shouldn't eat!

Guilt free, I keep a few of these in my purse and haven't really even been tempted to eat non-G.A.P.S. at all!

Recipe -

Yields 150 (+/-20)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
2 tbsp vanilla extract
Dash of salt

1. Melt butter and add honey.

2. Bring honey/butter mixture to a boil and boil for 3 full minutes.

3. Add vanilla carefully, will splatter in hot liquid.

4. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder and salt. Use a wooden or metal spoon to work the powder into a dough. Make sure it is as smooth as possible.

5. Spread between two layers of parchment paper and smooth with rolling pin (or whatever you have at hand) while still hot. ** I make mine about 1/4" thick, but you could make them thicker without a problem. You would get fewer pieces and since they are so rich, I find that a little piece is more than enough to satisfy!

6. Allow to cool. Use pizza cutter/knife to cut into 1"x1/2" pieces. Wrap in pieces of parchment paper/wax paper.

7. Eat and enjoy!!