Since Valentine’s Day is this week, chocolate is on my mind! I have always loved chocolate (who doesn’t?), but I don’t really like the sugar and additives that are in so many of the chocolates in the stores. Chocolate is supposed to actually be good for you-by itself- but can be ruined with the high amounts of sugar added.
My husband had gotten me some very good truffles around Christmas time that we noticed were made with coconut oil. These truffles had the best texture and melt in your mouth quality that I had experienced. While I haven’t tried (yet) to recreate those truffles, a recipe for Carob chips in Nourishing Traditions, made with coconut oil, caught my eye.
I replaced the carob powder with cocoa and we thought it was wonderful! I have used it for snacking on plain, added it to homemade granola for a rich breakfast, and converted it to use in a few desserts. But it wasn’t until last night that we tried the original recipe made with carob (I made it because my 18 month old daughter liked the chocolate variation, and I didn’t want her to have the caffeine). We were surprised that we rather liked it. It was not chocolate, that was for sure. But the carob did have a natural sweetness that was nice.
The last variation that I have done on this recipe is sweetening it with stevia instead of rapadura. I am on a strict health diet right now that doesn’t allow sugars, even natural ones. When made with stevia, it does have a slight aftertaste of stevia that may take getting used too. But it didn’t stop us from gobbling it down!
Original Carob Chips Recipe, from Nourishing Traditions
Makes 1 cup
3/4 cup carob powder
1/4 cup of rapadura
1 cup coconut oil (what grade of coconut oil you use will determine whether you have a coconut taste in your chocolate)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
Place all ingredients in a glass container and set in simmering water until melted. Mix together well. Spread mixture on a piece of buttered parchment paper and allow to cool in the refrigerator (I have done this in the freezer, as well). I like to use a loaf pan with the parchment paper in it to get a thicker chocolate. When hardened, remove parchment paper and cut into chips. Store chips in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Because the coconut oil does melts easily, do keep this in the refrigerator and beware that it melts quickly in warm hands!
Chocolate variation: Substitute a high fat cocoa powder for the carob powder. The chocolate extract is entirely optional. Since chocolate doesn’t have the natural sweetness of carob, this recipe will make a very bittersweet recipe (just like I like it!), so taste it and add more rapadura if you like your chocolate sweeter.
Stevia Option: Replace all rapadura with 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of stevia powder.
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Oh how i love chocolate, but I seem to be allergic to it. 🙁 I get the same reaction I get with dairy- nasal congestion. And this time of year that can easily kick in a cold. Carob just doesn’t seem quite the same. Oh well, it that’s the most I have to complain about in life, I guess I’m doing alright! 🙂
Hahahahahahahahaha…………………………………………………….. 😛
These look scrumptious, and I was thrilled to notice that they are soy free unlike most chocolate chips available for purchase–yay! (I have a soy allergy in addition to my celiac disease *sigh*)Printing this recipe to try very very soon!
Have you ever experimented with cocoa nibs at all, Kimi? They have a nice bittersweet chocolate taste and also add a bit of crunch when added to baked goods. We really enjoy cocoa nibs in banana bread.
What an awesome reicpe Kimi! Erin and I will have to make these ASAP! Oh, could one use a different sweetener then rapadura and stevia? We often use Muscovado.
Thanks for the great tip! I have the Nourishing Traditions book, but I hadn’t tried this recipe. It’s good to know that it produces such good results!
These look yummy, I hope to try them later this month! Thanks for posting.
It is really good!
I know I’m always pestering you for recipes, but I’m REALLY interested in the soup you are making for V-day…
😀
Oh this sounds wonderful.I am always looking for healthier alternatives for the oh so wonderful sweet tooth. I will definately be printing and trying this, thank you!
I’ve gotten mine from Wilderness Family and recently ordered some from Azure Standard
I must have done something horribly wrong. My mixture never got smooth. It looks like it curdled or something. I used a double boiler and I used agave syrup as the sweetener. Other than that, I followed the directions. Any thoughts?
Angela,
That is so odd! I have made this so many times with no problem. I am trying to think of possible reasons why that happened. You did use chocolate(or carob) powder, right? When working with unsweetened chocolate bars, you have to be careful not to make the chocolate “seize”. But I have never heard of that happening when using just chocolate powder. I can’t imagine that the agave syrup would have caused any problems either. Really, I am perplexed. Did you let it sit for a while in the fridge or freezer? It does take a while to harden, and that in between stage might look pretty funny. Make sure that you give it enough time to harden completely. That is the only thing I can think of that could be making it look funny right now.
Does it taste okay?
I wonder how it would work w/ coconut butter rather then just the oil..maybe taste more like coconut. But I’m wondering if it won’t melt as fast.
hopeing to try this and that is will work for us..I need to find out how to make my own choc and carob chips since my son has so many allergies. We have to trial coconut with him still.
Jonara,
Or what about cocoa butter? You can buy it online, and I bet it would make a delicious homemade chocolate!
So…the variation is with chocolate powder and not cocoa powder. Is that right?
Hey Mindy,
I meant cocoa powder, it came out chocolate powder, lol. I fixed it in the post. 🙂
I am on a vegan, raw, no sugar, no flour diet for cancer. I bought some unsweetened carob chips at the store and found they had fractionated palm oil in them! Also, a little cane sugar which I am not supposed to have. I love coconut oil (bought the best from Tropical Traditions) and with the Stevia option, I may have the perfect treat. Thank you so much!
Can I make this without cocoa powder? I can’t eat chocolate or cocoa; nor can my son. Other than that, with the stevia, this looks like something we can actually eat!
KH: Meredith, You could try making something like the mounds bar recipes on this site and leave off the chocolate topping!
Hi,
Thank you for the suggestion (Mound bar). I just realized that I think I asked you the wrong question! I would make this with carob powder; it’s the chocolate extract that I was wondering about. Would the chocolate extract be optional with carob, or is it necessary for something?
Hi,
I did exactly the same as Angela above (used agave instead of a dry sweetener), and received the same result. The mixture has been sitting on the flame for hours, but most of the oil has not yet been absorbed; the rest is dark and lumpy. What to do — should I roll it out, put it in the refrigerator for a while, and keep the oil for some other purpose (such as… ?)? Or let it continue doing its thing on the burner? Thank you for your help.
I just tried a 1/3rd recipe with my jerry-rigged double-boiler, substituting 3/8 t. stevia for the sweetener and leaving out the chocolate extract — worked wonderfully!
One thing that puzzled me was when the mixture solidified in the refrigerator, some of the coconut oil separated from the carob. Did I get the proportions wrong, or fail to create an even mixture, or is this normal?
Also, does anyone have a substitution idea for coconut oil that is derived from a seed, grain, or bean other than soy? Mixing beans and nuts isn’t technically a “legal” combination for me! Thanks!
You could try grape seed oil. It was new to me but it does work well in most recipes.
I had the same problem as Angela and Navva. I too used agave (because we are sugar restricted). Maybe it is the agave. Has anyone had success with agave?? I was also using carob powder.
I made this recipe using Agave Nectar. I did not encounter any problems, I put the liquid together in double boiler first over low heat: Coconut oil, Agave Nectar and Vanilla extract. As soon as the oil was completely melted I stirred the combo twice and added “sifted” Carob powder. Stirred it completely, poured it into prepared pan and stuck it in the fridge.
If the Carob powder is not sifted it has a tendency to “bunch up.” This happens when making ice-rice cream as well.
When using Agave, compensate for the moisture in the agave nectar by reducing other liquids added by 1 F. Oz per 2/3 cup agave used or estimate the moisture to be approx. 20% of the agave used. Ref: http://www.madhavahoney.com
The coconut oil in the recipe is “solid” at room temperature, correct? Also, I am making the chips to add to my dog cookie recipe, do I have to use a sweetner? Could I substitute honey or molasses and what would be the measurement?
Thanks,
Terry
My daughter is not able to have the vanilla or the chocolate extract and we need to use Agave nectar for the sweetener- has anyone tried it with out the extracts? Do I need to make any other modifications because I’m leaving out the two extracts and using the Agave? Thanks
You mention the type of coconut oil used determines if it tastes like coconut. What would you recommend for not tasting the coconut flavor?
Have you ever tried it with maple syrup or agave? I can’t have Stevia or sugar cane.
LimeCake has an AMAZING must-try recipe for chocolate olive oil sea salt sourdough sandwich. http://limecake.net/2010/11/14/chocolate-sea-salt-olive-oil-sandwich/
I’m going to try it with homemade chocolate chips 🙂
I am going to try this soon. Rather than rapadura will use xylitol. We can’t have sugar on our healthy diet plan.
Thanks for the recipe.
is there something else you can use to replace the coconut oil?
I used this recipe in place of melted chocolate chips for homemade Almond Butter Cups. In place of the carob, raw organic cacao powder was used. I added a few tablespoons of Muscovado unrefined sugar and a splash of heavy whipping cream. Love this recipe!