Mmmm, chocolate!!

Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa

1 dash salt

1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, stir together the water, sugar, salt, and cocoa over low heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens and begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until serving. I personally store mine in a glass jar in the refrigerator and haven't kept it long enough to go bad, so I guess it takes awhile :).

You may wonder why on earth anyone would make something that is so easy and relatively inexpensive to grab at the grocery store. Well, I will tell you. Buying chocolate syrup throws in a whole new dangerous aspect to your ice cream topping shopping. When you buy chocolate syrup, you run the terrible risk of possibly... oh dear, I hate to even say it! You could possibly grab the wrong bottle without noticing and actually buy sugar free syrup by accident! Whew! That was hard to say. And oh, the horror of it is that your poor husband (who is the one who grabbed it, by the way!) might slather it on his ice cream before realizing that it does not taste like normal chocolate syrup. And then you and your husband might both (yes both) be such hoarders that you can't throw it away, and it might actually sit in your refrigerator (to prevent spoilage!) for years and years! Not that I speak from experience or anything. OK fine, I do speak from experience! How did you guess? We haven't had it for years and years yet though. Months. Or maybe 1 year.

OK, there's photographical evidence... :)

We like the homemade variety just as well as the store bought. And while most people don't go through so much chocolate syrup that the savings will make a difference in the budget, I must point out that it is cheaper to make your own :D. And you don't have to run to the store whenever the calamity of... no chocolate syrup... strikes your household.

And having confessed all my deep dark refrigerator secrets, I now feel bold and empowered and courageous... so I must quickly go and hide this in the trash. Er... the hiding part is mostly so no 2-year-olds spread sugar free chocolate syrup all over the house, but also so that no husbands will retrieve it from the trash and replace it in my refrigerator.