GAPS-friendly White Chocolate (+ White Chocolate Chips)

Must Try Recipes

I shared a recipe for honey-sweetened chocolate chips the other day so now it’s time for a post on how to make your own white chocolate!

The biggest difference between this recipe and the previous one is that I won’t be using cocoa powder today. Some people on GAPS cannot digest cocoa powder (and it’s actually recommended you don’t even try during the first few months) so this recipe will let them enjoy delicious homemade chocolate that doesn’t break any GAPS rules. The natural sweetener here is, as usual, raw honey!

I personally have always loved white chocolate much more than milk or dark chocolate. It was always my first choice when I got to go to a candy store with my older sister. And good thing that I did because true white chocolate consists only of cocoa butter scented with vanilla. Its shorter list of ingredients means that it’s easier to digest for your gut. But be careful about eating store-bought white chocolate. Commercial white chocolate is usually full of artificial sweeteners that won’t do you any good. That’s why I sweeten mine with honey.

It’s also more fragrant and delicate than milk or dark chocolate. The sweet fragrance of vanilla beautifully intertwines with the rich cocoa butter to create a perfect combination.

I was more afraid of making white chocolate than regular chocolate because I felt that it would be difficult to stabilize if there is no cocoa powder in it but I am happy to report that nothing bad happened to my white chocolate. It’s actually relatively simple and very versatile too. You can use that white chocolate to make other desserts and baked goods, like turn it into white chocolate bars or chocolate chips to put in cookies and pancakes. The possibilities are endless!

I know there is still a lot of stigma around fat and how it’s supposedly making us all obese but through my own research and personal experiences, I have come to learn that fat isn’t so bad after all. It’s all about the quality. Fat in a hamburger is not the same as cocoa butter. And if your body craves for fat (or sugar, for that matter!) then I think it’s only fair to give in to that craving. Your body knows best what it needs and you should listen to it. Eat fat if you need to but make it a good fat, coming from real food.

Cocoa butter can be hard to come by and even if you find some, you need to be really careful so that you won’t buy something low-grade that doesn’t even stabilize properly. But if you happen to find a good source of organic cocoa butter then give it a try in other recipes as well! Cocoa butter can be used instead of regular butter in most recipes for baked goods.

Necessary equipment:

  • a large glass bowl and a medium saucepan OR a double boiler
  • a whisk
  • a rubber scraper
  • an immersion blender
  • a large glass pan OR a jelly roll pan
  • a sharp knife for making chocolate chips
  • a cutting board

Homemade white chocolate

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cocoa butter (about 16 ounces)
  • ¾ cup of raw honey
  • 1 t. of vanilla extract
  • scraped seeds from one vanilla bean

Instructions:

  1. Pour some water into your saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
  2. Set a glass bowl on top and transfer the cocoa butter inside it. The cocoa butter should start melting slowly, you can help it by whisking. Remember that there should be no steam from the saucepan because any liquid that comes into contact with your chocolate mixture will cause it to seize and clump.
  3. Remove from heat and add the honey and vanilla seeds. Whisk until combined and smooth.
  4. Add the vanilla extract and keep whisking until smooth.
  5. Set the bowl aside to cool for 30 minutes.
  6. Use an immersion blender to turn the mixture back into liquid. Repeat this process every 30 minutes until you can see that the liquid turns opaque but still pourable.
  7. Pour the mixture into molds (eg. cupcake liners) to make candies or bars.
  8. Leave to harden at room temperature.

White chocolate chips

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cocoa butter
  • ¾ cup of raw honey
  • 1 t. of vanilla extract
  • scraped seeds from one vanilla bean

Instructions:

  1. Pour some water into your saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
  2. Set a glass bowl on top and transfer the cocoa butter inside it. The cocoa butter should start melting slowly, you can help it by whisking. Remember that there should be no steam from the saucepan because any liquid that comes into contact with your chocolate mixture will cause it to seize and clump.
  3. Remove from heat and add the honey and vanilla seeds. Whisk until combined and smooth.
  4. Add the vanilla extract and keep whisking until smooth.
  5. Set the bowl aside to cool for 30 minutes.
  6. Use an immersion blender to turn the mixture back into liquid. Repeat this process every 30 minutes until you can see that the liquid turns opaque but still pourable.
  7. Pour the mixture onto a glass pan or a jelly roll pan.
  8. Leave to harden at room temperature.
  9. Once hardened, break into large chunks and remove with a rubber scraper.
  10. Use a cutting board to cut the chunks into small chocolate chip-sized pieces.

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