Chocolate Chip Chunks - Refined Sugar Free

Ingredients:

1 Cup Cocoa Butter

1 Cup Cocoa Powder

¾ Cup Raw Honey

1 Vanilla Bean

¼ tsp Sea Salt

In a double boiler melt the cocoa butter.  If you do not have a double boiler you can fill a pan partially with water, and place a glass bowl, metal bowl or smaller pan over top of the boiling water.  It is important to make sure that none of the water gets in your cocoa butter.
 


Room temperature Cocoa Butter

 While you are melting the cocoa butter, take the vanilla bean and split it in half.  Using a butter knife or spoon, gently scrape the paste out of the bean.  You will only need the paste for this recipe, but you can save the pod for making homemade vanilla or for another application.  Vanilla beans are a little pricey, but I like to use them when I don’t want what I am making to get an alcohol taste from vanilla extract.  If you would rather use vanilla extract, that will work too.


Inside of Vanilla Bean

Once the cocoa butter is melted, remove it from heat and add everything but the honey.  You want to make sure that the mixture cools to at least 110◦ so that it doesn’t kill off the good stuff in the honey (more to come about honey is a later post).  You don’t need to use a thermometer, just wait until it feels a little warmer than body temperature.



Raw Honey

At this point you can put the mixture in a blender and beat it up to get a smoother consistency, or just mix it really well.  Poor in to an 8X8 pan lined with wax paper and place in the refrigerator for several hours, or until firm.

I like to take them out of the pan and cut them in to chunks.  Then place in an air tight container and store in the refrigerator.

My kids love snacking on these and I feel good about it because I have control over the ingredients and I know they are getting nutrients from the cocoa butter and honey.

You can use these chocolate chip chunks in any recipe that you would normally put chocolate chips. 

Or you can also poor this chocolate in candy molds or to dip your favorite fruit.

*I have linked the ingredients above to where you can purchase them.  The cocoa butter is really great.  It smells heavenly.  You should try to purchase raw honey locally, but if you can't find it I have had the brand linked and it is also really delicious.  I purchase my vanilla beans via Amazon in bulk.  It is much more cost effective this way.  If you have never tasted the flavor that you can get from a vanilla bean, you really must.  The smell is just amazing too.