Chocolate Syrup

Yes, I confess. I'm one of those adults who never outgrew chocolate milk. I grew up drinking Ovaltine, and as a teenager it was my breakfast of choice. Even after we switched to a healthier diet in our house, I continued to buy it. I figured it couldn't be as bad as the other chocolate drinks since it has all those vitamins in it. I'm sure it is better than some other chocolate drinks, but I'm suspicious about the quality of the vitamins and I'm not thrilled about  the mono and diglycerides, either.

I'm not abandoning chocolate milk entirely, though. I'm just making it myself. It's simple and inexpensive - and best of all, it's a multi-tasker, doing double duty as topping for ice cream and whatever else you think would be even better with a drizzle of chocolate syrup on it.

This recipe makes a slightly thicker sauce that mixes easily, but can be spooned out of the jar.  I prefer a strong chocolate flavor with less sweetness, which is why I used equal parts cocoa and sugar, but you can adjust to taste.

Chocolate Syrup

1 C sugar
1 C good quality cocoa
1 1/2 C water
dash salt
dash vanilla

Stir together to eliminate any lumps. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Bottle and store in the refrigerator.

I'm not sure yet how long it keeps - but I doubt it will be around that long anyway.