Gluten Free Gigi’s Homemade GFCF Chocolate Chunks for Baking & Snacking

A winning guest post by Gluten Free Gigi

Adhering to a gluten free casein free (GFCF) diet, can be challenging, especially when it comes to “convenience” products like chocolate chips or chunks. Part of the challenge can be in budgeting. Chocolate produced in a dedicated facility is often double or triple the cost of “regular” chocolate. That can make tossing together a batch of cookies or muffins much more costly than necessary.

That’s why I decided I’d make my own.

These chocolate chunks are ideal for baking or snacking, and full of natural goodness. The best part is you know exactly what they contain.

I like using Valrhona dark cocoa for my chocolate chunks, but you can use any cocoa (or raw cacao, if you prefer) to make your own chocolate chunks.

These chunks are terrific on their own or in a snack mix; however, they do melt more than “traditional” store-bought chunks or chocolate chips. With only 4 ingredients, these chunks do not contain an emulsifier like soy lecithin (read about soy lecithin here). You could add one if you like, to lend more heat-stability to the chunks.

To show you how these look in a baked product, here’s a picture of muffins I made with these chunks. When the muffins are still hot, the chunks are near liquid. Allowing the muffins (or cookies or other baked goods where you use these chunks) to cool completely will result in a solidified bit of chocolate again.

I love the natural flavor of these chocolate chunks and knowing exactly what is in them. It’s also nice to know you’ll never run out of chocolate pieces when you get the desire to make your favorite baked treat!

Gluten Free Gigi’s Gluten Free Casein Free Homemade Chocolate Chunks

Gluten Free, Casein Free, Vegan, Soy Free, Nut Free

6 Tablespoons good quality unsweetened cocoa powder

6 Tablespoons coconut oil that has been gently melted (melt just until it is liquid)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (certified GF)

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup or other sweetener of your choice*

*Note on sweeteners:

You can use liquid or solid sugars here, such as palm sugar, cane sugar (brown or white), molasses, honey, etc.

I have not tried stevia (it burns my tongue!), but I feel sure it would work.

You may want to add more sweetener to your chocolate chunks; I didn’t want mine too sweet. Adding a bit more sweetener, up to 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup did not change my final results.

Combine all ingredients in a glass dish, such as a glass loaf pan. I use one that is 8×4-inches. Stir until everything is mixed well, pour into dish, then chill for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chocolate is solid.

Use a knife to cut into desired size chunks. Scoop out the chunks with a spoon. I start on one corner of the dish and run the tip of my spoon down the side of the dish, all the way around, then scoop out the chunks. You will have some small bits flake away, but mostly the chunks will come out whole. (See my picture above again… I scooped these using this method and put them right on the plate without arranging them at all so you could see exactly what to expect when you make them.)

Store these in a glass jar, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe I’ve shared with you courtesy of Gluten Free Gigi. She truly is among the best resources I’ve found for sound nutrition information and recipes in our community.  I look forward to receiving her free e-Letter with her easy-to-understand “A Side of Science” on nutrition information and simple, affordable and healthy recipes each week. Be sure to visit Gluten Free Gigi’s website and sign up for her free e-Letter. She has information I’m confident you will find well worth your time.