Homemade Healthy Chocolate Bars Recipe, Chocolate Chips, Etc... Refined Sugar Free, Vegan

Ever have a recipe that you were really excited about, really wanted to do something special with it, but you ended up getting disappointed? This recipe is one of  those. You have no idea how much I fell in love with it... but I sat on it so long because it simply didn't work for me.
Why am I sharing it then?
Because it still is beyond amazing.
Just not for me.

I've got a sweet tooth. I love chocolate most of all sweet things, but I end up feeling guilty about the chocolate I eat because it's filled with all sorts of bad ingredients, from white sugar to soy lecitin and a whole bunch of other not good for you things.

On my trip to the US, I went to Whole Foods, and for the first time saw a chocolate I didn't feel guilty about eating- only 3 or 4 wholesome ingredients... but the price tag... oh boy...

I'd wanted to make my own chocolate for a long time, and had tried so many different recipes with all sorts of different ingredients, but they all flopped for me, separating into unappetizing layers of oil and sweeteners, or becoming more taffy like than bar like..
But finally I figured it out.
Using coconut sugar- a dry sweetener- and coconut oil.

And it came out perfectly! I made a few batches of this chocolate. I loved it, my kids loved it, my husband loved it.

And then I got horrible stomach aches and nausea from me.

Apparently my sensitive stomach doesn't like too much coconut oil. Or even a little bit. Just having a small piece of this chocolate caused me stomach upset.

But I have a sensitive stomach, and specifically am sensitive to coconut, so... just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean it wouldn't work for you.
Just don't go overboard in your chocolate eating and making until you know that you don't react badly to coconut oil...

That said, I'm hanging on to this recipe, and as soon as I'm able to get my hands on cheap cocoa butter, I will be making my own homemade chocolate bars, using this exact recipe.


Note that the technique in making this recipe is nearly as important as the ingredients- without the proper technique, it'll likely flop, so follow instructions exactly.

Also note that these melt easily, so if you make them into chocolate chips/chunks, you won't be able to use it in baking since it'll melt all over. They'll work in recipes in which the chocolate chips/chunks are used cold, like in ice cream, etc...

Homemade Healthy Chocolate Bars Recipe, Chocolate Chips, Etc... Refined Sugar Free, Vegan

Ingredients:
1 part cocoa powder
1 part coconut sugar or sucanat (for a cheaper but unhealthier option, use white sugar, but less)
1 part coconut oil

Additive Options:
Almonds (ground, minced, or whole) or almond extract
Walnuts (ground, minced, or whole)
Peanuts (ground, minced, or whole)
Mint extract
Coffee powder
Coconut flakes
Chili powder
Raisins
Homemade strawberry jelly candies
Etc...

Instructions:
1. You need to grind your coconut sugar/sucanat into powder. This is very important, since you won't be melting the sugar to dissolve, so you need to have it powdered in order for you to not have unappetizing crunchy sweet chunks in your chocolate. I use my coffee grinder to grind my coconut sugar.

2. Your coconut oil also needs to be perfectly textured. You want it the texture of mashed potatoes. If it is too hard you won't be able to mix it. If it is too wet it'll separate. If it is hot out and your coconut oil is liquid at room temperature, put it in the fridge to harden. If it is cold out and your coconut oil is rock solid at room temperature (or it hardened too long in the fridge), put it in a pan for literally a few seconds, until it just barely begins to melt, then mix it well so that it all is a uniform texture. Mashed potatoes. Anything else won't work. If you've got the wrong texture, keep cooling or warming it until it is just right. This is imperative.

3. Mix equal amounts of your perfectly textured coconut oil with your ground coconut sugar and cocoa powder. Mix it until it has a uniform texture. Try not to touch with your hands, since body temperature might melt it too quickly.

4. Add your additives as desired. You can add whatever you like in chocolate, I just gave some of the ideas above which I used when making mine, but if something else suits your fancy, go right ahead. You can add more than one thing as well.

5. Put your chocolate in your molds. I used silicon cupcake molds to make mine, but anything will do. Put a very small layer into each mold- you don't need suck thick pieces.

6. Once your chocolate is in your molds, bang the mold on the counter/table a few times to help it settle down and to remove air bubbles.

7. Stick it into the freezer to harden (it shouldn't take longer than a few minutes), then remove from the molds.

8. Keep in the freezer until you eat.

Enjoy!

Ever made homemade chocolate before? Did you have success the first time? Or did you flop many times until you had success? What were the factors that contributed to your success?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try? Or are you sensitive to coconut oil like I am?