Raw Vegan Chocolate Bars

I love food. If I'm not eating it, I'm thinking about it, writing about it, talking about it, or creating it. A couple weeks ago while thinking about it, I had the thought to make my own chocolate bars. As I've probably already mentioned, chocolate is part of my daily life. I don't mean that I eat a whole cake every day, but at least a square with a glass of wine, which I indulge in more than I care to admit. I'm on the hunt for a good organic red wine. Every one that I've tried so far tastes like sludge. I'm led to believe that wine needs added sulfites to be palatable. If anyone has any suggestions though, send them my way!

Anyways, while browsing pinterest one day, I found this recipe for chocolate bars. Already having the ingredients in my cabinet, I got to work.. and was pretty disappointed. It came out more like fudge, and was way too sweet. I prefer a dark chocolate (72% cocoa to be exact!) that's more bitter, so I made it my mission to perfect this recipe. I came up with 3 different recipes of various cocoa contents (the original recipe is about 50% cocoa). These don't have lecithin, which reduces the viscosity of chocolate, so they're a little on the soft side. They're best kept in the freezer, but they taste almost as good as a vegan Endangered Species bar!

Have fun with these. Make them your own! I've made them using dehydrated raspberries and strawberries, the latter of which is almost as good paired with chocolate as wine is! I've crushed up pretzels and made a chocolate pretzel bark, and I have homemade mint extract sitting in the cabinet, waiting to be ready to be added to one of these chocolate confections. My coworker made a delicious bar by adding ginger and curry powder. Anything goes!

Dehydrated Raspberries

Dehydrated Strawberries

Our garden strawberries, ready for picking!

The first bar has a mild cocoa content, so it's still pretty sweet. It's a little on the soft side, but it's good for people who don't like a dark, bitter chocolate.

Chocolate Bar #1

62% cocoa

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This next one is probably my favorite. It was delicious mixed with crushed pretzels!

Chocolate Bar #2

67% cocoa content

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This last bar has the highest cocoa content and is the most bitter. It's also the most solid, so it most resembles a store bought bar.

Chocolate Bar #3

70% cocoa

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.