Last night the furnace broke, and outside it was 15 degrees. It didn’t take too long before people were calling for hot chocolate! My family likes dutch-proccessed cocoa without anything else in it. We mix it with scalded milk and however many teaspoons of sugar we prefer. If you have a gluten-free grocery guide, you already know many brands of cocoa mix that are safe. Plain old cocoa powder shouldn’t have any gluten in it in any case; all you need to be concerned about is cross-contamination. Drinking chocolate, however, can contain wheat. Which is a serious shame.
Strolling the gluten-free web, I found a few specialty gluten-free hot chocolate recipes out there, and because I love showcasing the talent of the online GF community, here is a sweet sampling:
- I Am Gluten Free has a recipe that she adapted for Baked Hot Chocolate. This decadent dessert is apparently very, very rich. Although the recipe involves using a stand mixer, I bet you can get away with just using an electric hand mixer, a double boiler, some ramekins, and an oven. The Baked Hot Chocolate ends up with three different layers of velvety, luscious chocolate. I suppose you should use a spoon.
- Glutenfreeda gives us a recipe for one of my very favorite drinks, Mexican Hot Chocolate. It involves not only cinnamon, which I am familiar with, but also cloves, aniseed, and semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I’d probably use bittersweet). Actually, I also like mine with a bit of a kick, so I like it made with some sort of hot pepper powder.
- Elana’s Pantry showcases Elana’s recipe for Vegan Hot Chocolate, which I find very creative. It involves cashews, stevia, agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Her kids taste-tested it and she upped the sweetness to meet with their approval.
From the Triumph Dining Grocery Guide, here are some completely safe chocolate drinks:
- Guittard: Cocoa Powder
- DariFree: Chocolate
- Manischewitz: Chocolate Syrup
- McNess: Hot Cocoa Drink Mix and Hot Cocoa with Mint Drink Mix
- Yoohoo, all chocolate drinks
