Sunday, February 21, 2016

Food Friday - Awesome Sauce!

from Kris B.



My mom was a chocoholic; she liked any kind of chocolate, by M&Ms and Breyers ice cream covered in chocolate sauce were her favorites.  Though every now and then I remember seeing a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in the refrigerator, most of the time she made her own sauce.  As it turns out, it is super easy to make!

I am not an ice cream fan.  I'm not sure why that is; it's just one of those weird personality traits.  I do, however, really like this chocolate sauce.  It is thick and when it starts to cool becomes almost chewy like fudge.  I had to fins a way to enjoy it other than on ice cream.  My preference is to eat it swirled in with a bit of coffee flavored yogurt; not frozen yogurt, just plain ol' yogurt.  If your world is in a sad state and you have no coffee flavored yogurt, vanilla is an acceptable substitute.

Because of its thickness, this sauce also works well for dipping.  Some of my favorite dipping devices are animal crackers, pretzels, cinnamon covered tortilla chips, fruit, and this time of year, Girl Scout Trefoil cookies.  Don't judge me!  I am admitting my bad habits here and now.  Lol!  If your cupboard is bare a spoon, spatula, or a finger will do in a pinch!

INGREDIENTS
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.  Heat over medium heat stirring continuously.   Once mixture boils, reduce heat to low and continue to stir until until the chocolate is completely melted and thoroughly integrated.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Reheat either on the stove top over low heat or in the microwave for a minute and half at about 50% power.  YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST MICROWAVE TIMES AND SETTINGS BASED ON YOUR MICROWAVE.  Do not leave the chocolate sauce unattended until you are sure of the behavior of your microwave.


from Tracey G.



Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the hard shell chocolate sauces, and now my child does too, along with me! It always kind of irked me that it comes in such a small bottle for what you were paying, but it's fun, so I made sure we had it around! Then one day I ran across this recipe for homemade "Magic Shell", and I filed it away under "to make someday". I'd finally went out and gotten the ingredients necessary, but still, hadn't made it. A Food Friday post seemed like as good of an excuse as any to finally give it a whirl and am I glad I did! It turned out better than I could've ever expected, and it introduced me to working with coconut oil. It worked just like it should and I was rather impressed at how easy it was to make a large batch of chocolate hard shell topping for my ice cream at home - the secret is in the coconut oil - it hardens as it cools.

I have to say, though, that it got strange and mixed reviews from my guys - big and little, which made me laugh. Harry at first loved it, was great, then it was "blah" to him. Jeremy said it tasted like chocolate chips - um well, yeah, that's because that's what it is! But when Harry saw me give my "photo prop" serving to Daddy, he had a fit - so I think it wasn't as blah to him as he'd previously stated!! LOL! Me personally? I loved it - it tasted perfect to me and I was super giddy I could make as much as I wanted whenever I wanted! After chatting with Jeremy, I did decide it would be fun to try and experiment with different chocolates, maybe mix some milk with the semi-sweet chips or whatever, you could have fun combining and trying different chocolates for whatever tasted you're going for.

The method and recipe is so easy it's almost embarrassing, lol. Here it is:

12 oz package chocolate chips - about 2 cups
4 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all in a large microwavable bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and blended. . Let cool slightly, then spoon over ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 month.

For gift giving (and using directions even if not gifting!): Divide among jars and instruct the receivers to microwave the chocolate sauce, uncovered and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

That's it! It was scary simple for such a fun treat to be able to make at home, whenever you like for a fraction of the cost of the commercial variety!! 



No comments:

Post a Comment