Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chocolate Milk
Creamy, rich, and surprisingly low in sugar. Plus recipes for MDW.
Hello hello! I’m sorry I missed chatting with you all last week. I thought I’d get you a recipe at the end of Monday, but I ended up in jury duty and it simply wiped me and then I was in big catch-up mode for work.
But let me tell you… my jury duty case was FASCINATING. I wasn’t supposed to talk about it if I was placed on it, but I didn’t end up getting selected, so I figure it’s fine. It was the trial for the woman who stowed away on a flight from NYC to Paris. The trial was quick, and the defendant was found guilty. There is indeed video footage of her sneaking through security and then aboard the flight so I’m not sure how the trial was going to go any other way. But it was a rush! I simultaneously loved (the drama!) and hated (a lot of sitting, waiting, doing nothing) jury duty. I’m probably in the 2% of people who would do it again.
What to make for Memorial Day Weekend
Whether you’re staying home, heading out of town, or hitting up a party, these are some summer kickoff recipes to set the vibe. It’s supposed to be quite rainy and cool in NY, so a sweet treat might be the best way for us to welcome in summer.
If you want something that screams ‘hey summer’ (from left to right): chocolate cherry rye cookies, berry crisp cake (with fresh berries), fudgy bakewell blondies, salted tahini cookie ice cream sandwiches, strawberry lemon loaf cake, campfire banana boats (campfire optional).
My mom’s top tip for going to or hosting a party is to make a bar cookie. You don’t have to worry about multiple batches, and they always turn out reliably delicious. I recommend (from left to right): browned butter chocolate chip blondies, homemade brookies (only if you have more time), almond frangipane blondies, brown butter miso chocolate chip cookie bars.
This week’s recipe
I’ve been toying with chocolate milk recently. It started when I visited my aunt in Costa Rica. We went to a cacao demonstration and tried the most delicious simple treat: finely ground cacao mixed with sugar and a dab of hot milk. It was chocolatey, fruity, and bitter and had the texture of brownie batter.
I tried to make it at home, but couldn’t quite get the texture or flavor right. SO I ended up turning it into chocolate milk. The cacao nibs added a bitter and toasted flavor that you don’t usually get with chocolate milk. Complex and delicious.
But we’re saving cacao nib chocolate milk for another day. Because A. the cacao nibs made the chocolate milk a little grainy and B. cacao nibs are expensive. I don’t love sharing a recipe with a pricey ingredient you might not use again, especially when we could use a cheaper alternative.
SO I thought let’s do a super dark and smooth chocolate milk, but with a twist of peanut butter. It tastes like that incredibly creamy chocolate milk you get from the local farm, but somehow even better?
A couple of key ingredients to call out:
Dutch-process cocoa powder (available in-stores or on Amazon): Dutch-process is much darker and has a truer chocolate flavor than natural cocoa powder (aka classic Hershey’s). I particularly love black cocoa powder, a variety of Dutch-process that tastes like Oreo (or black cocoa powder (you can get it on Amazon). I promise you will use it again and again, and it gives this chocolate milk a much more deep chocolate flavor. If you don’t have it, try adding 1/2 TBS more natural cocoa powder.
Peanut butter: I prefer Jiff or Skippy since it’s not as oily, but I’m sure this would work with natural PB. Add an extra 1/2 TBS of granulated sugar if using natural unsweetened PB.
Whole milk: Opt for the best whole milk you can find, since milk is the main ingredient here. Sure, you can use low-fat milk, but if you’re taking the time to make homemade chocolate milk, I’d just enjoy it with whole milk. You can also use alternative milks if your tummy needs it.
Also, I will note this is a low-sugar recipe. You’ve got 1.5 TBS sugar plus whatever’s in the peanut butter. I say this largely for my dad, who is always on the hunt for low-sugar recipes.
Who knew I could write so much about chocolate milk? OKAY let’s get into it!
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chocolate Milk
Makes 1 quart (4 cups) chocolate milk
Ingredients
1.5 TBS. granulated sugar
1.5 TBS. black cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 TBS. peanut butter, ideally Jiff or Skippy
2 pinches salt
2 pinches espresso powder
1 quart whole milk (swap in alternative milks as needed)
Directions
In a food processor, smoothie bullet, or a large glass with a milk frother, add the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, peanut butter, salt and espresso powder.
Heat 1/2 cup of the milk on the stovetop just until it’s steaming.
Pour the milk over the rest of the ingredients, and whir until dissolved, 20-30 seconds.
Pour the milk mixture into whatever vessel you want to serve/store in. Add in almost all of the remaining milk. Stir or shake to combine. Taste, and add the remaining milk if you’d like.
Have a great long weekend :)
xx Maddie