This is a picture from December, when we took some hot cocoa to the park in a thermos with a few ceramic mugs and some Joan’s gluten free bagels.
It is pretty chilly out again–the perfect time to enjoy a cup of homemade hot chocolate. Enjoy life chocolate chips, agave and coconut milk make a great gluten free/casein free hot cocoa. But we also have made hot cocoa by making a paste with cocoa and agave/sugar and adding coconut milk. Below are both recipes.
If some family members still consume dairy, you can use the same chocolate cocoa base with cow’s milk instead of coconut milk.
So Delicious Coconut Milk works well for a GFCF hot chocolate. I buy the coconut milk in cartons from Whole Foods Market but they sell it at Natural Frontier Market if it’s too snowy to get downtown! Another option to make a dairy free hot chocolate is to use rice milk or water with a few tablespoons of canned coconut milk.Hot Chocolate Recipe (with GFCF option)
2 tablespoons Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (GFCF) or chocolate chips of choice
1/2 or 1 tablespoon agave or sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk or “milk” of choice
Melt chocolate in microwave for 10 seconds at a time until melted in mug. Stir in sugar or agave. Heat milk until steaming. Add to melted chocolate for a super creamy chocolaty treat. Add a marshmallow for extra credit.
Hot Cocoa Recipe (with GFCF option)
2 teaspoons organic cocoa
1 Tablespoon sugar or agave
tiny pinch of salt
few drops of vanilla
1 cup milk of choice–we use So Delicious Coconut Milk
Make paste from cocoa, agave or sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla. Heat milk until steaming. Add slowly to paste. Serve with a marshmallow for extra fun.
Christie - I love So Delicious coconut milk! It's pretty cold here, and I can't wait to try both of these recipes! Thanks for sharing them.
Anonymous - Just melt one part So Delicious chocolate (soy-free, dairy-free) ice cream and whip with one part Rice Milk. Yummy!
Kim - Wondering if you know of any coconut milk w/o carrageenan? I was really excited until I looked at the So Delicious ingredient list. I have read so much about problems with it (esp. GI related problems, which we have enough of here!) that we avoid things containing it — which is hard with milk subs (apparently while it is derived from seaweed the process by which it is derived is far from wholesome). While I am not generally a huge Andrew Weil fan (he has some interesting things to say but I feel like he tows the "industry" line too much at times), even he recommends avoiding regular consumption of it).
gfcfmom - Original poster here…
Thank you so much for the information on carrageenan, Kim. If you have gut issues and are trying to avoid carrageenan, you can mix 1-2 Tablespoons of coconut milk from a can into a cup of water. 365 Organic Coconut Milk contains organic coconut, purified water and guar gum. We tend to mostly drink water, but I like to have this on hand to make special treats. It's not something anyone drinks by the cupful here, but I will post on carrageen soon! Thanks for the info.
gfcfcanadianstyle - Yum. I'm totally stealing this idea for our next weekend tobogganing party!
Sylvia T. - Oh My Gosh this is sooo good! I just made a cup and I'm sipping on it as I type. I used almond milk instead of coconut milk because I am a protein nutrition type and I have to eat protein with any carbohydrate I consume. Thank you so much for sharing! Now I can have hot chocolate like the rest of my family!