Guilt Free Hot Chocolate

When I told my eight year old son that chocolate is a bean, he refused to believe me. I got to show him the proof only this week, when I found roasted raw cocoa beans at our local organic store. It's the first time I've used them this way, so I decided to start small, with a warm cup of cocoa. Our family is now on a GFDF diet, so I used almond milk - this could easily be substituted with cows milk, but may lose a little of the nutty flavour. 

Ingredients:

• raw cocoa beans (about 15)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 1 vanilla bean (split) or 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1. rub the beans to remove paper skins, then grind in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle until a fine powder
2. add all ingredients to a pot on the stove and simmer for 10 minutes or until good colour is achieved
3. strain if necessary and drink!

I made this twice, the second time adding a dollop of almond cream to the mix. Not so guilt free, but richer, and a better colour, as almond milk has a greyish tone. Almond milk is often pre-sweetened, so if you are making this with cows milk, you may need to add extra sugar.