This is a recipe for home-made, sugar free chocolates, contributed by my good friend,Vivianne Collins
Lifestyle & Entertainment Host | Natural Health Aficionado
“What do I love most about chocolate? Everything! It’s delicious, flavorful and happy-making! But last year I felt like a complete slave to chocolate and couldn’t go without. I was eating massive amounts of it and very often. It finally dawned on me that cacao wasn’t the problem — it was the refined sugar.
I had given up all forms of processed and refined sugar quite a while back, but conveniently overlooked the fact that my chocolate habit kept me hooked.
Since I started making my own homemade milk chocolate, I stopped having those terrible cravings. Problem solved. I can simply enjoy a guilt-free guilty pleasure and to me, this is true happiness!
Please have fun with this “recipe.” It’s really more of a guide that allows you to be your own chocolatier! I’ve managed to get the milk-chocolate flavor I love with a fudge-y consistency. Yummm.”
Viv’s Chocolate Bites
yield: 45 chocolate minis.
4 oz. unsweetened, high-quality baking chocolate (look for fair-trade)
1/2 c raw, natural almond (or cashew) butter — no salt or sugar added
1/2 c (optional) unsweetened liquid almond (or cashew) milk — room temp
1 tbsp. dry organic powdered milk or almond milk, sifted. (Adjust quantity to taste.)
4 tbsp. homemade date paste
1 tbsp. raw coconut sugar
1 tbsp. raw organic agave syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1 gram of pure Stevia
Slowly add Stevia and coconut sugar to the vanilla and allow to dissolve. Set aside.
(I’ve never acquired a taste for Stevia but it’s super sweet and zero-glycemic. I use it as a base and that way I need less of the tastier sweeteners I prefer.)
Use a double boiler or bain-marie over very low heat to slowly melt chocolate together with almond butter. Direct heat will cook the chocolate and we don’t want that.
While stirring, add in vanilla mixture, then add the powdered almond milk. (Too many liquids will give you pudding instead of firm chocolate).
Your chocolate may seize a little when you add liquid, but don’t worry. Just keep mixing.
Depending on the taste you want, you may or may not need the remaining sweeteners. Add them a little at a time, tasting and stirring as you go.
Your final step is to spoon mixture into mini candy cups or a chocolate bar mold. You could also pre-line a baking sheet with wax paper, then spread the mixture over it.
Allow to harden in fridge or freezer …. then eat and ENJOY!!
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