homemade xylitol chocolate (and some Hawaiian vacation pics)

They look pretty don't they. Pretty and delicious? Not quite, but I'll tell you all about it.

Sorry it took me so long to post! I got back last Saturday, did all the unpacking stuff and started a full time job on Monday. I've been part time for a while so it was a bit of a shock as far as time budgeting. Thankfully it was a 4 day week!

As you know, I've been on a sugar holiday (cutting out all sugar but mainly fructose). I've had to come up with ideas for chocolate treats to satisfy cravings. And while my first batches won't win any godiva awards (is there such a thing?), I felt good about eating them. Craig has been less than pleased and says keep trying.

Recently, I read Dr. Mercola's The 4 Best, and 3 Worst, Sweeteners to Have in Your Kitchen. You can find it here. Xylitol seemed to have some merit, and it was easy to find at the grocery store. So I thought I might try it.

I picked up one of these silicone molds too. You NEED something like this if you want to make chocolate. They make even bad attempts appealing to eat. Which leads me to this one....
Xylitol granules are quite large and they didn't melt. I heated for a long time and finally gave up. I ended up running the mixture through the vitamix to break it down (try washing THAT out of a vitamix). It helped but it was still granular and the little bits didn't distribute well.

It set in the fridge to firm, and while it looked lovely, the taste was strange. Aside from the gritty bits, there is a cooling sensation in your mouth when you eat xylitol. Might be good with mint? Not sure I'll get around to that one...