For the past few months I have been indulging in delicious Simply Light chocolate bars that are both sugar and dairy free. I discovered them when a Trader Joes opened in our area.
But I must confess.. my addiction got out of hand and I literally spent $50 the first month on these bars. Oops.
You see being dairy and sugar free.. chocolate has been completely out of my reach for quite some time. Oh sure, I have made chocolate to coat things out of cocoa powder and coconut oil.. but it would just melt in my hands moment after picking it up. What kind of chocolate eating experience is that?? I lost interest.
Until today.. when the wheels in my head clicked into place and it came to me exactly how to make my own bar of delicious dark chocolate. With one trial batch I had a bar dangerously good. This chocolate is the SAME exact texture of regular chocolate, its easy to make and its WAY WAY cheaper than a bar of Simply Light.
Use it to coat cookies, or eat all on its own. Best part- there’s no fancy tempering process. Its simple to make and even more impossible to screw up!
Dairy & Sugar Free Dark Chocolate
- 1/2 cup melted cacao butter.
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder)
- 1 whole Vanilla Bean (optional)
- a hefty pinch of salt
- 5-6 Tbs (to taste) of Powdered Sugar or Powdered Xylitol or Powdered Erythritol. (see note in directions)
- If you would like your chocolate to be 100% sugar free- select your sugar (either Xylitol or Erythritol) and place it in a coffee grinder. Blend until smooth and powdery. Set aside.
- Place a block of Cacoa butter on a cutting board and slice it down some. Place into a microwave safe bowl and microwave until fully melted. (this will take 2-3 minutes at the most).
- Remove from microwave and add the cocoa powder, salt, powdered sugar and 1 vanilla bean. (slice a vanilla bean in half. Using a sharp knife scrape out the insides of the bean at add that to the chocolate). The vanilla bean is optional, but will make a huge difference in improving the flavor of the chocolate. If you have vanilla powder that could also be used.
- Place the cup of mixed chocolate into the fridge for roughly 20 minutes so that it thickens slightly.
- Pour the chocolate into molds, or onto a sheet of parchment paper that has been placed in a small bread pan or small cake pan. You can also dip cookies or candy into the chocolate when it is at this consistency. (If you leave it in the fridge for too long and it becomes hard, simply place it in the microwave briefly to soften it to the consistency that you want). Add any toppings at this point then place in the fridge or freezer until it becomes solid.
Fun Recipe Notes:
- You can top this chocolate in a number of different ways. I added lightly salted, roasted almonds to mine. Try adding dried cherries, dried cranberries, halzenuts, silvered almonds, sprinkles, shredded coconut, orange zest, crushed peppermint candy, dried lavender etc. It will all taste amazing.
- If you want to flavor the chocolate itself you can add an extract that is oil based. (liquid or alcohol based will interfere with the chocolate remaining solid). Simply organic carries oil based Peppermint and Orange Extract. (they may have other flavors too). If using these just add a little bit at a time (start 1/4 tsp) until you reach the flavor that you want. If you make your chocolate -peppermint flavored you can leave out the vanilla bean as it may contrast in flavor.
For the white chocolate lovers: I have a recipe for: Dairy Free, Sugar Free White Chocolate too!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Brittany,
What a great gifts you give. This new type 1 diabetic can now have CHOCOLATE for Christmas. The thought of my first Christmas as type 1 wasn’t looking good, it is looking much better now. since I can have dairy there has to be a way to make milk chocolate. Merry Christmas and Happy Advent.
Hi Sarah! Stay tuned as I have a totally sugar free peppermint bark recipe up my sleeve too
I also can’t have ANY sugar.. I’ll be posting as many 100% sugar free holiday recipes the next month!
Oh my Brittany!
You are such a girl after my own heart! I can’t wait to make these!
I have been looking for sugarfree and dairy free choclate chips (dark). Also, that I can afford.
Hummm…….I wonder how I could make little chips to put in cookies? I know I could cut these and make like chunks.
I so love stopping by! You make delish items and your pics are beautiful!
Merry Christmas,
Jeanene
Fantastic! You have done it again, dear Brittany. That looks amazing and simple to make. I’m thrilled to have a use for my organic cacao butter.Would one just melt it in a double-boiler in a microwave-free kitchen? I also am ecstatic to see that someone else besides me gets THAT addicted to her low-glycemic/low-carb sugar-free chocolate bars! (though I’d never heard of that brand–and I thought I knew them ALL).
P.S. Oooh…lavender! GREAT idea!
Is there a substitute for cacao butter? I can’t find any in my area.
Thank You
jenne
No! It’s the only ingredient I recommend. Order some! ( that’s what I do
i can’t believe I hadn’t noticed this recipe here before now!!! its nearly impossible for me to find a chocolate bar that I can have and I haven’t ventured out to make any yet.. this looks incredible!! thankyou so much for sharing this recipe is exactly what I need!
can I use truvia with this recipe instead of the other sugar alternatives?
Val- sure
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