Farm Family Recipes

Melt cacao butter in a double boiler or in a glass mixing bowl set over a small saucepan with 1 inch of water over medium heat. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in a mixing bowl until completely liquid. Once melted, remove from heat and add maple syrup and whisk to combine. When the mixture is completely fluid with no separation, add cacao or cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Whisk to thoroughly combine. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed - I found 1/3 cup to be perfect (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Pour the chocolate into candy molds (if you have them), mini paper cupcake liners, or simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the chocolate on top. Top with roasted almonds and sprinkle of salt. Set in the refrigerator or freezer to harden for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once completely solid, break or cut into pieces/bars. These can be kept at room temperature for serving. But for best freshness, store chocolate in an airtight container or freezer bag in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, or the freezer for 1-2 months. Notes *If you can't find cacao butter, you can try to sub coconut oil (1 cup (240 ml) coconut oil per 1 cup (218) g cacao butter). However, I did find it to make the texture and mouth feel more oily and a couple of readers have suggested it doesn't mix as well with the maple syrup. In this way, I highly recommend using cacao butter. *If your almonds are raw, roast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees F (176 C) for 8-12 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly golden brown.