Date-sweetened hot chocolate, with the comforting taste you know and love, without the sugar high!
You know when winter comes and all you want to do is curl up under the covers, with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in your hands, and ignore the world for a while? Or is that just me? I used to love having hot chocolate, or Milo, when I was growing up, but now with all my gluten and dairy problems, I’ve had to become a little more inventive in my comfort foods. I recently posted a dairy-free hot chocolate recipe that has been my go-to for most of the time since I’ve been lactose intolerant. Simple to make with just cocoa powder, maple syrup and almond milk. But then I wanted to try something that didn’t even use maple syrup for sweetening. Maybe some dates? And after a few trial and errors, I came up with this.
Now, a few cautionary words. If you don’t like having chunky bits of dates in your hot chocolate, make sure you process the dates well – both before and after you add the almond milk. And use a decent food processor, like my Ninja (not getting paid to promote them, I just love my Ninja so much!). Get your almond milk nice and hot before adding to the date mixture – it helps to soften the dates and reduce the potential of chunks. And don’t add too much cinnamon (if you add any at all). It overpowers the chocolate-y taste … trust me, I did this once and couldn’t finish the drink!
As always, feel free to experiment and let me know in the comments below what you think!
Date-sweetened hot chocolate
(Gluten-free, dairy-free, no refined sugar)
Ingredients
- 1 Medjool date pitted
- 1 tbs cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon optional
Instructions
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Combine the date, cocoa powder and vanilla in a food processor until all mixed and most of the date has been made into a paste.
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Heat almond milk in the microwave.
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Add almond milk to the date mixture and combine in food processor again until smooth.
