Chocolate Syrup

CHOCOLATE MILK??!?  Yes, please.  I love me some chocolate milk.  I have never used anything but Hershey's, but I figured, what the h.e.double.hockey.sticks., let's go to town with some homemade.

The store brand: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

My Recipe (from http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2011/03/08/homemade-chocolate-syrup/):

• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 C water
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 t vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cocoa powder. Add water and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, until thickened, continuing to stir frequently. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then add vanilla extract.

Store in air tight container in the fridge.

I made a half batch and it made just about 1 cup of finished syrup.  It was super fast - like 5 minutes from start to finish.

So, the comparison?  Well Hershey's is just high fructose corn syrup with cocoa and preservatives.  I'd take real sugar over HFCS any day.  Taste wise, the homemade version just tasted more chocolatey.  Very deep chocolate flavor - I also needed a little less to make my chocolate milk.  I was worried it would be too thin and watery, but it was thick and great!

The cost to make your own is just about the same.  I used the cost of my homemade vanilla, which saves a little money.

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup	24 oz- 2.25 cup	$      2.35	$          1.04
Homemade	2 cups	$      1.96	$          0.98

So overall, it costs about the same to make your own, but it tastes so much richer and more chocolatey.

Bake or Buy?  BAKE!