Homemade chocolate coins are thin, honey-sweetened rounds with cocoa flavor and a little homemade vanilla. Melt the cocoa butter gently, stir the mixture until smooth, and pour shallow rounds that set in the refrigerator. You can make their plain circular shape in an uncoated stainless-steel muffin pan without buying a special chocolate mold.
This is a later Full GAPS treat. Cocoa belongs later in the program, once digestive symptoms have disappeared and the person is ready for it. Making chocolate at home keeps the ingredients clear, but it does not move cocoa into the Introduction Diet or early Full GAPS.
Our family started GAPS in July 2024. With six children, homeschooling before work, and second-shift work outside the home, I want kitchen plans that fit the day we actually have. A treat for a gathering is its own small job. It still needs to fit where we are on GAPS before the ingredients come out.
For this recipe, the useful planning detail is the refrigerator space. Prepare the pan before melting anything, and make room for it to sit flat while the chocolate sets. That takes a little last-minute juggling out of the job. The hands-on work is simple, but the coins need to become firm before you try to lift them.
Where Chocolate Fits On GAPS
In Gut and Physiology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha explains that chocolate is not a regular GAPS food. Some people introduce it successfully later in the program when digestive symptoms have disappeared. Her cocoa guidance describes an occasional treat, rather than something to introduce simply because a recipe uses honey.
Choose pure organic cocoa powder without added ingredients. Keep the distinction between cocoa powder and cocoa butter clear: this recipe uses both, in separate amounts. Cocoa butter supplies the fat; the powder gives these coins their chocolate flavor. A cocoa drink mix with sugar, milk powder, or flavorings is a different ingredient.
This formula has no dairy or nuts. Those features are useful when you want a chocolate recipe without adding milk or nut flour, but they do not change cocoa’s later placement. The fermented cocoa preparation described in Dr. Natasha’s book is a different method and is not included in this five-ingredient recipe.
Five Ingredients For Chocolate Coins
Start with one-half cup of food-grade cocoa butter pieces. Measure the pieces before melting them for this recipe. Keep that measurement separate from a recipe that specifically calls for a measured volume of melted cocoa butter. Different shapes of chunks can leave different gaps in a cup. Use the cup measure here rather than treating it as a melted-liquid measure.
The cocoa powder measure is one-third cup. Use plain unsweetened powder, then measure two tablespoons of raw honey. Honey is the sweetener here. These coins are not sugar-free, and the homemade method does not require a syrup or another sweetener.
The last two ingredients are one teaspoon of homemade vanilla extract and a pinch of mineral salt. Our linked vanilla recipe gives you the beans, plain grape vodka, and steeping method for that pantry ingredient. Have it ready before starting the chocolate; vanilla needs its own preparation time.
Cocoa butter is not coconut butter or dairy butter. Keep the cocoa butter in this recipe rather than swapping fats and expecting the same result. The cocoa, honey, vanilla, and salt all go into the measured melted fat. There is no extra oil, milk, fruit, or garnish to add.
A Small Pan And Glass Bowl
Use a small saucepan and a heatproof glass bowl that rests securely on its rim for the double boiler. The method photograph uses the Le Creuset Signature Round Saucepan in Artichaut, in the one-and-three-quarter-quart size. The saucepan holds the water; the bowl above it holds the cocoa butter.
You also need a glass mixing bowl, a wooden or stainless-steel spoon, measuring cups and spoons, and an uncoated stainless-steel muffin pan. Unbleached parchment circles and narrow lift strips help release the rounds from the bottoms of its wells. Check the pan’s actual surface; a nonstick or silicone-coated pan is a different material.
The wells give you a round outline without filling them as if you were making muffins. A shallow layer at the bottom makes a coin. Your pan’s well diameter and the thickness you pour determine how many rounds the batch makes. Use enough prepared wells, or work in batches, to use the mixture.
Making The Chocolate Coins
Prepare The Round Wells
Put a small parchment circle in the bottom of each well, with a narrow strip underneath that extends up the side for lifting. Have the pan ready on a level surface. This preparation is easier while the pan is empty than after you have a bowl of chocolate waiting.
Melt The Cocoa Butter Gently
Put the measured cocoa butter pieces in the double-boiler bowl and melt over low heat. Watch the pieces soften and lose their solid edges. At the end of this step, the fat should be a clear, pale-golden liquid with no unmelted chunks.
The first method photo shows that melted-fat stage. It has no cocoa powder in it yet. The spoon’s working end is shiny with fat, and the contacted bowl walls can carry a little greasy film.
Stir In The Cocoa And Honey
Transfer the melted cocoa butter to the glass mixing bowl. Add the measured cocoa powder and honey, then stir to combine. Work through the powder so it becomes part of the liquid instead of remaining in dry pockets around the edge of the bowl.
Add the homemade vanilla and salt. Stir until the mixture is smooth and evenly brown. Scrape the spoon across the contacted sides as you work. Look for a combined mixture rather than separate clear fat, dry cocoa, or a ribbon of honey sitting apart from the chocolate.
Pour Thin Rounds
Divide the mixture into shallow layers at the bottoms of the prepared wells. Keep the pan level so the chocolate spreads into rounds. You are coating the bottoms, not filling the muffin cavities. A thicker pour makes a thicker piece and changes how long its center takes to set.
The second method photo shows one tray of portions before chilling. The parchment tabs stay accessible above the chocolate. The pan shown has twelve wells. Use the rest of the mixture in additional prepared wells or another batch of the pan.
Chill Until Firm And Lift Out
Refrigerate the pan until the chocolate has set. Check the texture as the coins set. The rounds should hold their shape when you lift them, with no soft center spreading or bending over the parchment.
Use the parchment strips to help lift the coins from the wells, then peel away the paper. If a round is still soft, leave it to set longer before trying again. Keep the plain rounds intact for serving. There is no need to wrap them in foil to make the recipe.
Serving And Storage
Keep the coins covered in a glass container in the refrigerator, and bring out a small amount for serving. Return the rest to the cold container. These are a chilled homemade treat, so keep their firm texture in mind when arranging them for a gathering.
For a fruit-flavored sweet without cocoa powder, see our homemade berry chips with cocoa butter. That recipe uses additive-free freeze-dried berries and homemade coconut butter, then freezes a thin sheet that you chop into chips. Follow its own ingredients and Full GAPS placement; fresh berries are not a direct substitute for its dried powder.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Gelt Mean Here?
Gelt is the name commonly used for the chocolate coins associated with Hanukkah. These are plain homemade rounds. You do not need gold wrappers, a stamped design, or a special coin mold to make their shape.
Can These Be An Introduction Diet Treat?
This cocoa recipe belongs later in Full GAPS, once digestive symptoms have disappeared and the person is ready for cocoa. Honey, homemade vanilla, or the absence of dairy does not change that placement. It is an occasional chocolate treat.
Why Are There No Exact Chill Minutes?
The thickness of your rounds and the size of the wells affect setting. Keep chilling until the center is firm and each coin lifts without losing its shape. A clock alone cannot tell you whether a thicker round is ready.
Do I Melt A Ready-Made Chocolate Bar?
This recipe starts with cocoa butter and unsweetened cocoa powder. The honey, homemade vanilla, and salt are measured separately. There is no ready-made chocolate bar in the ingredient list.
How Do I Make Twice The Batch?
Use one cup of cocoa butter pieces, two-thirds cup of cocoa powder, four tablespoons of raw honey, two teaspoons of homemade vanilla, and two pinches of salt. Prepare enough wells and refrigerator space for the larger batch. Keep the rounds shallow and use the same firm-setting cue.
Holiday Food Planning
If you are working out which foods fit your family’s GAPS stage for a gathering, the planned Holidays on GAPS guide and 3-Day Holiday Survival email series are relevant next resources. Find current and upcoming offers in the WFLI shop. Plan the meal first, then choose the treat and make room for any chilling or advance preparation it needs.
Homemade Chocolate Coins (Gelt) for Later Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prepare an uncoated stainless muffin pan with an unbleached parchment circle and a narrow parchment lift strip in each well. Keep the pan level and have refrigerator space ready.
- Melt the measured cocoa butter pieces in a secure heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of water on low heat. Continue until the fat is clear and pale golden, with no solid pieces remaining.
- Transfer the melted cocoa butter to a glass mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and raw honey in the amounts selected in the ingredient list, and stir to combine. Work through dry powder and honey streaks.
- Add the homemade vanilla extract and mineral salt in the amounts selected in the ingredient list. Stir until smooth and evenly brown, without a separate clear fat layer or dry cocoa pockets.
- Pour the mixture into thin shallow rounds at the bottoms of the prepared wells. Do not fill the muffin cavities. Use enough wells or work in batches to use the mixture; continue with more prepared wells or another batch of the pan as needed.
- Refrigerate until the chocolate is fully set and holds its shape through the center. Setting time depends on the well size and the thickness of the rounds.
- Lift out the firm coins with the parchment strips and peel away the paper. If a center is still soft or bends while lifting, refrigerate longer. Keep the finished coins cold.
Notes
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