Today, I'm excited to welcome Louise Hendon of Paleo Flourish Magazine to my blog! I haven't had a guest blogger here in a while, but this recipe is worth the dry spell.
Hot chocolate may seem a little out-of-season (it's summer at the time this was posted), but you'll be so happy to have this recipe saved when the mornings and evenings are crisp and cool. Plus, I still think hot chocolate is suitable during summer thunderstorms. Comfort food at its finest.
I won't ramble any longer. Take it away, Louise!
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This is a guest post by Louise Hendon of Paleo Flourish Magazine.
When I mention the word “chocolate,” most of us think of the solid bars of chocolate from Lindt or Cadbury’s or Nestle. But for most of the time since chocolate was discovered, it’s been consumed in a liquid form.
One European in the 16th century praised the chocolate drink as “the healthiest thing, and the greatest sustenance of anything you could drink in the world, because he who drinks a cup of this liquid, no matter how far he walks, can go a whole day without eating anything else.”
However, the corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, milk solids and preservatives added to prepackaged hot chocolate these days make it hard for this delicious drink to be considered a healthy drink by pretty much anyone.
So, in this simple recipe, I’m going to show you how to make delicious peppermint hot chocolate with coconut milk and your favorite dark chocolate as well as fresh peppermint leaves so that you can enjoy a delicious cup of the “food of the gods” made with Paleo ingredients.
Here are some step-by-step photos and instructions to make this Paleo peppermint hot chocolate recipe at home:
Step 1: Place the coconut milk into a small saucepan.
Step 2: Add in chunks of dark chocolate to the coconut milk.
Step 3: Stir the mixture until the chocolate melts. Add in coconut sugar to taste (and vanilla extract if you want).
Step 4: Pick a few fresh mint leaves and drop them into the pot as well.
Step 5: Simmer for 5 minutes on a low heat and then use a strainer to strain the leaves out.
A few changes you can make to the recipe to customize it:
- If you don’t have fresh peppermint leaves available, you can peppermint extract instead. If you don’t have peppermint extract either, then you can also use mint tea bags.
- Depending on how dark the chocolate you use is, you can choose whether to add in extra coconut sugar into your drink. I find coconut sugar to taste better in hot chocolate than honey or maple syrup, which add very distinct flavors. Personally, I love my hot chocolate super dark without any added sugar and using 100% dark chocolate, but I know that can be hard to get used to for most people so please adjust the sweetness level to suit your tastes.
- Pure vanilla extract can be added to the hot chocolate drink to give it a hint of sweetness without adding coconut sugar.
- I suggest using coconut milk from cans rather than coconut cream. If you use coconut cream, then you might want to water it down a bit. This hot chocolate is pretty creamy, so if you prefer a less creamy version, just add some water to it.
Want something to enjoy this Paleo peppermint hot chocolate with? Try these delicious coconut fudge bars from Chelsea!
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Recipe [Paleo, Dairy-Free]
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
- ⅓ cup (1.5 oz or 44g) dark chocolate, broken into chunks
- coconut sugar to taste (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 10 mint leaves (or use a few drops of peppermint extract)
Instructions
- Add the coconut milk into a small pot, then add in the chocolate chunks in and stir until they melt. Add in the coconut sugar to taste, vanilla extract, and mint leaves.
- Simmer for 5 min
- Use a strainer to remove the mint leaves.
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