Raw Chocolates: How-To

There are a few things this girl cannot, by choice, live without....and one of them happens to be CHOCOLATE!  It's interesting how, when I was a child, I detested it...with a passion.  So much so that I remember attending a birthday party when I was in elementary school and my friend had a chocolate cake adorned with chocolate frosting.  There I was almost in tears and thinking to myself, "I will be forced to eat that God-forsaken cake and there's nothing I can do about it."  As my friend's mother was walking towards me with the mound of chocolate on a plate, I became anxious.  But then, without hesitation as she was about to place it in front of me I quickly blurted out, "I'm allergic!"   Yeah...times have definitely changed since then, to say the least!

With the holidays coming up, I thought I'd get crafty in the kitchen and whip up some chocolate delights.  Never has my kitchen experienced this simple, yet delicious art form, but after tonight's rendition, the kitchen is now open for business!  And I must say, these chocolates will melt in your mouth, they are sooooo creamy!!  Mmm...mmm...mmm!

Here are the five (yes, 5) ingredients and "how-to".  This recipe is adapted from the book, Rawlicious.

7 oz. cacao butter (cocoa butter)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw honey or coconut nectar
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
2 cups raw cacao powder

In a double boiler, melt the cacao butter.  Transfer melted cacao into a blender and add the coconut oil, raw honey and vanilla.  Blend on low until smooth.  Slowly sift the cacao powder into the mix, while still blending on low, until smooth and creamy.  Transfer into molds or ice cube trays and freeze.  (I used a tiki mask ice tray for my chocolates because these are a Christmas gift for some Hawaiian lovers.) The freezing process only takes about 10-15 minutes.  Then just pop them out, eat right away, save for later or wrap them up as a gift.

- Heidi