Chocolate valentines gifts for him
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Chocolate is one of those foods that’s loved universally. You may not always have the option of heading down to the store whenever you feel a craving coming on, however, and store-bought chocolate often contains ingredients that are less-than-appealing, such as added sugar, dyes, and preservatives. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your own scrumptious, all-natural chocolate at home using a few basic ingredients. Use a series of measuring cups to portion out each ingredient in a small cup or bowl. Measuring your ingredients in advance will make the cooking process more efficient once it comes time to put it all together.
3-6 drops of liquid stevia to lend a little more sweetness to your chocolate. Turn on your cooktop to the lowest heat setting and add the coconut oil to the pot. Coconut oil has a low melting point, so this should only take a few seconds. Keeping the coconut oil moving continuously at the bottom of the pot will help it liquefy faster. Otherwise, cleanup can be quite a hassle. Use a whisk or metal spoon to scrape the sticky honey into the pot. Stir the ingredients into the melted oil until they dissolve and form a thin, syrupy mixture.
Be sure to keep your cooktop on a low heat setting. If the oil gets too hot, it could scorch the sugars in the honey and spoil the flavor of the finished chocolate. If you wish to add any other sweeteners, such as confectioner’s sugar or stevia, do it at the same time that you add the honey and vanilla. Rather than dumping all of the cocoa powder in at once, add it a little at a time.
As you do, keep your whisk or spoon moving to help distribute the cocoa powder evenly throughout the mixture. You’ll have an easier time mixing the cocoa into your other ingredients with a whisk than you would with a spoon or spatula. Take the chocolate off of the heat and continue stirring it as it thickens. You’ll know your chocolate is done when the chocolate takes on a smooth, dark color and the surface becomes slightly glossy. At this point, it just needs to be left to harden. Removing the pot from the hot cooktop will prevent the chocolate from burning. Transfer the warm chocolate to a nonstick surface to cool.
Carefully pour the chocolate out of the pot and onto a flexible nonstick baking mat or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also pour your chocolate into a decorative candy mold to create bite-sized treats with fun shapes. Avoid adding your chocolate to any nonstick type of container, or those treated with a commercial cooking spray. This usually won’t be enough to keep it from sticking. Refrigerate your chocolate for 1 hour before enjoying it. Once it’s fully set, it will be firm enough to break into pieces or remove from the mold. Store your finished chocolate in the refrigerator, or simply keep it in a covered container on your countertop for easy access.
Most types of dark chocolate have a shelf life of about 2 years. If your chocolate begins to melt or soften at room temperature, you can place it back in the refrigerator at any point to harden it back up. Create a makeshift double boiler using a pot of water and a mixing bowl. Fill the pot about halfway up and place it on the cooktop over medium heat. Then, set a small mixing bowl over the opening of the pot. The water will heat the bowl from underneath, allowing you to combine the various ingredients for your chocolate without burning them. You want the water to be nice and hot, but not boiling.
If the temperature is too high, it could easily scorch your chocolate as it cooks. A proper double boiler can help you get the job done with fewer pieces of cookware. Keep the cocoa butter moving continuously at the bottom of the bowl to encourage it to melt faster. Cocoa butter melts at about the same speed as ordinary butter, and has a similar look in its liquid form. You should be able to find cocoa butter in the baking aisle at any health food store, as well as some major supermarkets. If you’re unable to track down high-quality cocoa butter, you can use an equal amount of coconut oil as a substitute.
