This really is the best recipe for home made chocolate syrup. I’m sure it’ll taste richer with milk vs. water (save heavy cream for fudge sauce). To refill a Hershey’s bottle, scale up recipe to 24 servings=1½ pint=3 cups=24oz.
REVIEW SUMMARY:
TOO THIN?
Be patient. It only thickens after it’s chilled.
IN A HURRY?
For immediate use, thicken with one of the following:
1) (as suggested already) heat sugar with water until sugar dissolves, then add cocoa, or
2) reduce water from 1½ to just 1 cup,
3) for each 1 cup of syrup, mix cocoa with:
(a) 1 tbs cornstarch or (b) 1 tsp unflavored gelatin or (c) ½ tsp xanthan gum (that’s what’s in the original Hershey’s syrup). if using (a) let boil for 1 more minute or it won’t thicken.
TO MAKE SUGAR FREE
substitute ¾ c agave nectar for each 1c sugar and reduce recipe liquid by 1/3c.
TO EXTEND SHELF LIFE, add ½ tsp citric acid to each 1 cup syrup and stir well.
I made this pretty much out of frustration because my favorite sugar free chocolate syrup is almost four bucks a bottle. I read through some of the reviews on what worked for others and rolled with it. I used Splenda sugar substitute. I did see that this didn't thicken as others had mentioned but I divided it into Ball jars and let it sit in the fridge overnight and when I checked on it this morning, it was fine. And better than the bottled kind even. I did think it was a bit sweet so I might cut back on the Splenda for next time and maybe use a fat free condensed milk to make it a little richer but I'm pretty impressed with the recipe as is. Thanks for sharing and saving me almost three bucks!
This recipe was very easy to follow and took no time at all. Since my husband doesn't like chocolate, I replaced the cocoa powder and sugar with lentils and carrots. I also took out the vanilla extract and instead added some celery, garlic and vinegar. It was the best chocolate syrup my husband ever tasted, will try again.
This was an excellent recipe. However, my syrup never began to thicken. I probably should have combined the cocoa powder and sugar together first prior to placing it in water. So, I added a tiny bit of water to 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch to dissolve the cornstarch and poured it in. Let it boil lightly for about a minute and then removed it from the heat and added the vanilla. Perfect consistency.
This is fantastic! It's a hot day today, in southern California. And what do you know? I'm craving some chocolate milk--problem was, I didn't have any syrup. So I open up google and type in "chocolate syrup recipe". And this came up. :P I scaled it down to fit 4 servings, as opposed to the original 16. I read the reviews, and saw how people had trouble with thickening it. I knew that boiling equal parts sugar and water creates a simple syrup, so I boiled the water and sugar until the sugar was completely dissolved. THEN, I added in the cocoa powder (Hershey's brand). Once that was completely dissolved, it began to thicken very nicely. Then proceed to put in that dash of salt, mix, then add the vanilla. Mine was a little bit too thick, but was perfect since it mixed well with the cold milk. Tiny, itty bitty chunks of the chocolate mix settled at the bottom. This recipe is absolutely superb.
After finding out that Hershey's syrup has high fructose corn syrup in it, I knew I would never buy it again. This is a delicious recipe for a very similar type chocolate syrup. My husband and son are very happy with it!
Great Recipe!!! I use carob powder and stevia for a great sugar free syrup!!
I have been making this syrup for 8 months I make a batch a week it will fill a large mason jar. This stuff is great:O) My daughter is now taken to making it herself so it is easy.:O)
I made this simply because I rarely use chocolate syrup (in fact I don't think I've EVER bought a jar myself) and I needed it for a recipe. I wanted to be able to make a smaller portion and not have that jar going to waste. (I scaled it down.) What I did like about it was that it seemed to have more of the dark chocolate taste instead of being so sweet. However I don't know what effect that had on the recipe I was trying to make. (I used the rest up on ice cream.) And it never thickened. Cook time 5 minutes? I stood there and stood there and stood there stirring and stirring. It never really did a thing. I didn't want to end up with burnt chocolate flavor so I just gave up and took it off the stove. Tossed it in the fridge to use the next day and that's when it thickened up. Would've saved a lot of time (and my feet and arm) had I not tried getting it to thicken on the stove like it was supposed to.
Even after adding 1 1/2 tsp of Cornstarch this was still really thin. Next time I may reduce sugar by half and use sweetened condensed milk instead.
