This recipe for healthy homemade chocolate is beautifully simple. Once you've made a batch, you'll be happily whipping up guilt-free chocolate whenever those chocolate cravings strike.

This recipe takes about ten minutes of effort (and can be ready and in your mouth in less than an hour). These chocolates look (and taste) wonderful. They are customizable with countless flavor options. I've chosen to highlight roses in this recipe, the flower of LOVE.

When you use only pure, natural, high-quality ingredients you can feel confident in what you are fueling your body with. These chocolates are a guilt-free way to indulge in a bit of chocolate heaven, and they make lovely gifts, especially when packaged up in a nice little box with a sweet note attached.

What makes this chocolate special?

These chocolates contain NO preservatives, NO refined sugars, NO artificial flavors and NO mysterious unpronounceable ingredients that often come with store bought chocolates. What they do include are pure beneficial ingredients such as unrefined cocoa butter, cacao powder, maple syrup and optional natural flavors such as rose extract and petals.

The rose is red, the violet's blue, The honey's sweet, and so are you. Thou are my love, and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine: The lot was cast and then I drew, And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

~ Joseph Ritson | Gammer Gurton's Garland, 1784

Do you notice how the original rhyme says "The honey is sweet" instead of the modern-day verse that uses the word 'sugar'? We all know refined sugar should be avoided as much as possible so I think we'd better go back to the old verse from now on.

You can use honey, but these chocolates use maple syrup goodness!

Maple Syrup, the real stuff that comes to you unrefined and tapped directly from the tree, is an excellent alternative to sugar. Maple syrup contains over 65 antioxidants which can help delay or prevent diseases caused by free radicals. It also provides high levels of zinc and manganese, keeping the heart healthy and boosting the immune system. ¼ cup of maple syrup contains 100% of the recommended daily value of manganese. (3)

How about some good for you cocoa?

According to a study at Harvard, pure chocolate is comprised of nonfat cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The higher the nonfat cocoa solid content, the higher the flavonoid content will be. (5) Flavonoids are plant chemicals which are known to lower blood pressure, increase antioxidant activity, improve cholesterol levels and improve coronary artery function. (2) To get the most benefits, make sure that you are selecting unrefined products which retain those valuable nutrients like magnesium, calcium, iron, fiber, and protein. (4) Processed varieties are typically heat treated and lose a lot of their benefits in the processing.

I had to make the chocolates shown in this photo TWICE because a four-legged creature that goes by the name of Molly stole the first tray from my photo shoot when my back was turned.

Healthy Homemade Chocolates with a Pinch of Love

To make these chocolates I use heart heart-shaped one molds. You can find all sorts of other shapes as well. They make the process simple, and the chocolates pop out effortlessly.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cocoa butter (unrefined)
• 3/4 cup Organic Cacao Powder
• 5-10 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
• 1/8th tsp rose extract or vanilla extract
• handful dried rose petals
• sprinkle of sea salt (optional garnish)
• optional (other herbs and spices such as cayenne)

Directions

1. Gently melt the cocoa butter in a double boiler. You can also use a heatproof bowl set over a small pot as a makeshift double boiler. Meanwhile, chop and sprinkle rose petals into the bottom of the mold and if using sprinkle a little bit of sea salt.
2. Once the cocoa butter melts, whisk in the maple syrup extract and cacao powder.
3. Pour the chocolate in the molds and refrigerate until hardened.
4. Storage: This chocolate will keep for a month in the freezer and a week in your fridge.

Modifications

You can use honey instead of maple syrup. Baking cocoa can be used instead of cacao powder (but it won't have the same nutritional benefits). You can also use nuts, raisins, coconut, and other ingredients to add variety.

MORE Recipes using roses

Simple Rose Petal Syrup (Recipe)

How To Make Rose Hip Wine

Rose Petal Jelly Recipe

Strawberry Rose Jam

How To Make Flavoured Sugar (With Recipes)

How To Make Rosehip & Juniper Berry Syrup

Homemade Holiday Herbal Bitters (Recipes Included)

Making Recipes with Herbs

I've been asked about how we learned to do all of the things healthy, natural things that we write about. We read a LOT of books and we practice often - daily actually. We also take courses, listen to advice, ask questions and take in as much knowledge as possible.

If you feel drawn to the art of crafting all-natural homemade products and recipes using herbs but feel overwhelmed I will suggest you browse the courses offered by the Herbal Acadamy. I've learned so much from them.

Herbalism is a gorgeous craft; you get to work with pure ingredients, learn about nature, and create magic in a bottle. You also get to help people. When someone asks you for a refill on your 'special cream' because it helped them so much, you'll know what I mean. It can be overwhelming and confusing when you first get started, but there is so much you can learn and do just by following recipes like the ones shared in this post. Start with one thing and keep growing your skills.

Botany & Wild Crafting | Herbal Fermentation

I am a big fan of the short courses offered by the herbal Academy including Botany & Wildcrafting and Herbal Fermentation both of which are exceptional choices for homesteaders and hobbyists that aren't planning on making herbalism a career.

These courses bring back those nearly forgotten ancient herbal practices of our ancestors and teaching them to us in a practical, modern way. We use the knowledge we learned from them daily and if this sort of thing interests you, you might want to check them out.

Live well. Live Natural.

Resources

A Family Herb: The Comforts Of Rose ~ Herbal Academy

Gladstar, R. (2001). Rosemary Gladstar’s family herbal.