Is there nothing better this time of year than the gift of some homemade deep chocolate confection? I should say not, but seeing as I’m the one home-crafting said chocolate goodies for my friends and neighbors, maybe that’s a little prideful.
But I promise I’m humble. I take zero credit for this brilliance-on-a-stick — other than the fact that I actually executed this recipe in my kitchen (this is a feat: I can’t claim a fault-free past when it comes to candy making).
Knowledge of these cocoa blocks are my due reward for taking time to peruse catalogs the way I do, as though I had all the time and money in the world. I found the recipe* in the King Arthur Flour catalog, and the trimmings have been providing my chocolate fix these past couple of days.
What these fudge-like squares are really destined for is a swirl inside a mug of steaming hot milk. Can there be a more delightful way to make hot chocolate?
*The recipe suggests adding hazelnut or vanilla extract, but I love a little cinnamon in my ho-cho, so I added about a teaspoon-and-a-half of ground cinnamon. A little cayenne or chili pepper might be good, too.
the zest 