Homemade Chocolate Syrup

First of all, let me point you in the direction of Small Notebook.  Small Notebook is a beautiful blog about simplifying life, getting organized, and saving money.  That's where I first saw a post about homemade chocolate syrup that caught my eye.  I knew I had to try it.

But why?  Why would someone want to make homemade chocolate syrup?  I can think of three reasons right off hand.

1)  It's probably cheaper than buying store-bought.  I haven't taken the time to analyze the actual cost of homemade versus store-bought myself, but this recipe first ran in Amy Dacyczyn's book The Complete Tightwad Gazette, and there is a cost comparison in there.  From scratch wins by quite a bit. 

2)  It's NOT full of stuff that you can't pronounce.  Now, I like my processed food.  I like my store-bought ice cream and my Taco Bell and my Oreo cookies.  But I have been more concerned about eating processed foods lately, and I am trying to limit the amount I eat.  Yes, I'm trying to limit the amount of sugar I eat too, so chocolate syrup is still a splurge for me. But I had bought a bottle of off-brand chocolate syrup not too long ago, and the first ingredient in the list was high fructose corn syrup.  I had no idea what some of the other ingredients were.

3)  It tastes as good as the canned stuff.  Really!  I didn't think it would.  I really didn't.  But it does.

Here are a few tips if you make this:

-This boils over easy.  Use a medium to large saucepan and watch it.

-I made three versions.  The first version was made with regular Hershey's Cocoa Powder.  The second version was made with Hershey's Special Dark 100 % Cacao Powder, which I am absolutely in love with.

The one on the left was made with regular cocoa powder and the one on the right was made with dark. 

Personally, I loved the dark the best, but both were delicious.  The third batch was made with Splenda.  I did not like it at all and I'm going to have to work on it to get it right.

-The original recipe in the Tightwad Gazette says that this will keep for months in the refrigerator.  I don't know about months, but I'm sure weeks.

-This syrup is very sweet.  That's not a problem for me, but it may be for some.  I think the sugar could probably be decreased according to taste.

-This syrup gets thicker when it's cold, so don't judge it before it's really cooled.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Adapted from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup regular cocoa or dark cocoa powder

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together the cocoa, water, and sugar in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook for 3 minutes being careful not to let  boil over.   Remove from heat and add the salt and vanilla.   Pour into a sterilized jar and store in refrigerator.  Will keep for several weeks.