Chocolate Melt®

For the entire month of March, I gave up dairy, wheat, and sugar. It wasn't as difficult as I expected, but I did have to make some substitutions for things. Since I couldn't have butter, I relied more heavily on olive and coconut oil. Neither quite satisfied my "butter tooth," though.

A few months later, I was approached by a rep for Melt® Organic, asking if I would be interested in trying their products and/or visiting their booth at the Fancy Food Show. I can never guarantee if I'll make a visit to a booth at the show, because there is so much to see, but I was curious about Melt®. In a few days I received a package of buttery sticks, Melt® Organic Probiotic Spread, and their new Chocolate Melt®.

Chocolate butter! Well, not really butter. But chocolate!

Melt® contains what the company calls a "Perfect Blend" of beneficial oils - primarily virgin coconut oil blended with flaxseed, hi-oleic sunflower, palm fruit, and canola oils. It's got a mildly coconutty flavor that is great if you like coconut. The stuff that comes in tubs is spreadable right out of the fridge, like whipped butter, and is perfect for toast, bagels, and the like.

The Chocolate Melt® is Perfect Blend + organic cocoa and wildflower honey (but not really enough to make it obviously sweet). I thought it tasted pretty good on toast, especially with a sprinkling of unsweetened coconut flakes. No, it will not ever be a substitute for your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread because it doesn't have a ton of sugar (only 1 gram per serving), but it does feel a bit indulgent.

One of the true tests of any butter substitute is in how it bakes. I whipped up a batch of brownies using a recipe from the Fat Witch cookbook, with Chocolate Melt® in place of butter. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. The coconut flavor disappeared in all the chocolate goodness, and the brownies had the same fudgelike texture that just about all Fat Witch brownies have (as opposed to being gooey or cakey). You'd better believe that they got scarfed up pretty quickly in our house!

Double Chocolate Melt Brownies (adapted from Fat Witch)

1/2 cup Chocolate Melt®
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Large pinch salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup flour

Grease a 9-inch square pan and preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the Chocolate Melt® and all but 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic and place in microwave. Cook in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted, 1 - 1 1/2 minutes. Remove bowl and stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then beat in the eggs. Stir in the flour until no traces of it remain, then stir in the reserved chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs on it. Allow to cool before cutting into 12 pieces.

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Posted on Minxeats.com.