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!!

 

Marshmallows

 

 

One of my favorite things to make is homemade marshmallows... They are so ridiculously easy and SO delicious! Pre G.A.P.S. I made all of my recipes with cane syrup and sugar!

I really loved a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night with homemade marshmallows turning into gooey goodness on top... BUT when I made the decision to "go G.A.P.S." I had to let that little slice of heaven go.

Knox gelatin, cane syrup, white sugar and a dash of water made up the original recipe, but then I had the idea to just try substituting honey for the sugar syrup! Here are the results...

Recipe -

3 tbsp grass fed beef gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
dash salt

2 tsp Vanilla extract*

1. Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup of water in a mixer bowl and let bloom while cooking honey syrup.

2. Combine honey, 1/4 cup water, and salt in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and allow to remain and a rolling boil for 3 minutes.

3. Turn mixer onto low with just the gelatin in the bowl. Pour boiling syrup over gelatin** and slowly raise the speed over about 2 minutes to avoid splatter. It's HOT!

4. Add vanilla at this point and continue to beat the heck out of the mix until it is the consistency of marshmallow cream. This usually takes about 5 -10 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen and speed of your machine.

5. Pour mix into a greased 9 x 13 pan and wait!

6. After about 4 hours, use a greased pizza cutter to slice and dice those bad boys into individual marshmallows!

These will keep in the fridge indefinitely. They are best to eat alone within 3-5 days, but will melt into raw milk hot chocolate perfectly forever!

I know this seems like a lot all written out, but after you do it once and see how easy it is, you'll be making them for everything! I want to try a chocolate variation of this for 3 Musketeer copy cat candy bars!! Will post that when I try it.

Enjoy!

*A note regarding extract: I make my own with Mexican vanilla beans and vodka. Be careful when you are using extract that there is no added corn syrup or other things that are not allowed on G.A.P.S.

** Many people say this step needs to be very slow, but I've never done it that way. Dump that syrup in there and turn the mixer up!

Urban Poser has a recipe that is just like this in the ingredients, but the directions are a bit different. She coats hers in something (cocoa, coconut, arrowroot starch...) to keep them from being sticky, but I haven't found this to be a problem with mine.