Cooking with CBD is one of the most rewarding ways to experience the benefits of CBD—and it allows you to customize every aspect of your treats from ingredients to CBD dose.
A high-quality CBD chocolate bar is hard to come by, and they're expensive. And no, we're not talking about your gas-station chocolate bars.
If you want to reap the health benefits of cacao and CBD, you want CBD chocolates made with premium ingredients. To save you a bit of money and to add your customizations to your CBD experience, we've got an easy CBD chocolate bar recipe you can make at home.
What Does CBD Chocolate Do?
For people who are averse to the natural, hempy taste of CBD oils, CBD chocolate may be the more appetizing alternative to reap the benefits of CBD.
Aside from being a delicious delivery method, chocolate has its own set of benefits that complement CBD.
Cacao Is High In Antioxidants
Raw cacao is considered a superfood for brain and heart health because it's rich in flavanols and polyphenols, antioxidants. Antioxidants work by neutralizing free radicals and prevent oxidative stress on the cells and tissues in the body. If you need another reason to love chocolate, raw and unprocessed cacao beans have some of the highest antioxidant levels in food to combat free radicals [1].
Of course, the quality and source of your cacao will affect its antioxidant properties, which is why if you're hoping to leverage the best ingredients for your CBD chocolate, you should source minimally processed, organic cacao that avoids the use of chemicals during the growing and processing that could kill off a lot of its benefits.
Chocolate Contains Tryptophan
Dark chocolate is high in an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is used in the brain to make serotonin, aka the happy hormone. Serotonin is a hormone that regulates our mood, appetite, and pain perception. Combined with the relaxing properties and mood-enhancing effects of CBD, and you've got a perfect pairing in one bite.
Eating dark chocolate may boost your mood and concentration, which is why dark chocolate for meditation has become a trend in the health and wellness space.
CBD chocolate has become a favorite edible option for many people to enhance relaxation, promote better sleep, and boost mood.
Chocolate Contains Theobromine
Chocolate and CBD may be the most underrated matches. Theobromine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in dark chocolate that helps to regulate energy levels, concentration, and mood. In ancient Mayan culture, cacao was considered a gift from the gods.
Fat In Chocolate May Extend The Duration of CBD Effects
Cannabinoids like CBD are fat-soluble (lipophilic), which is why you'll often find hemp extract combined with a carrier oil to make dosing easier and improve the absorption in the gut and duration of the duration of CBD's effects in the body.
Researchers found that taking CBD with high-fat foods increased the amount of CBD in the blood by at least four times as much as a fasted state [2].
In a study looking at chocolate, researchers found that the natural fats contained in chocolate facilitate lipid micro-encapsulation, where the fat molecules protect CBD from destruction in the digestion process. Since CBD is lipophilic, it binds to fats as a way to hitch a ride into the bloodstream [3].
Quick Tips For Making Home Made A CBD Chocolate Bar
1. Choose High-Quality Chocolate
The benefits of CBD chocolate will only be as good as the ingredients you use. Shop for organic, fair-trade dark chocolate with a high cocoa content for the most antioxidants and nutritious benefits like iron, fiber, magnesium, copper, and manganese.
2. Use CBD From A Reputable source
You want to make sure you're using the best CBD for your homemade CBD chocolate to get the most benefits from the cannabis plant. Make sure the CBD products come from a reliable source. We recommend shopping for CBD extracts from hemp crops grown in the USA for its high agricultural standards.
It's not enough to take the brand's word for the quality. Check to see that the CBD oil has a Certificate of Analysis from a third-party lab that indicates the CBD content and that it's free from contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, and mold.
3. Opt For Full Spectrum Hemp Extract
Full spectrum CBD contains minor cannabinoids and terpenes to leverage the full effects of the hemp plant.
While CBD on its own is an excellent compound, researchers have shown that CBD works best when it's alongside hemp's naturally occurring phytochemicals like minor cannabinoids and terpenes. Full spectrum CBD may have up to 0.3% THC, according to the US Farm Bill.
If you live in a state with strict THC content regulations or have sensitivities to trace amounts of THC, then opt for a broad spectrum hemp extract. It still contains minor cannabinoids and terpenes but has undergone additional processing to remove all traces of THC.
CBD Tincture 1000MG
Learn More4. Use A High Potency CBD Oil
The potency of a CBD oil refers to the mg of CBD in respect to the carrier oil.
When making edible CBD like gummies, chocolate, or baked goods, we prefer a high potency CBD oil with at least 5000 mg or more of CBD. This is because you'll require much less oil to reach a high concentration of CBD in your recipe.
If you add too much oil, you risk throwing off the balance of your recipe, resulting in a not-so palatable edible.
Neurogan offers a 12,000 mg CBD oil that delivers 100 mg of CBD per 1/2 a dropper serving, which means you won't end up with a CBD chocolate bar that's too oily or greasy, plus end up saving a lot more money when you purchase a CBD oil with a higher concentration.
High Potency CBD Oil 12000MG
Learn More5. Never Use Direct Heat To Melt Chocolate
Make sure you're buying chocolate chips that are meant to be melted, as some formulations of chips or nibs don't melt easily and are filled with other ingredients that make them resistant to melting.
Real chocolate is sensitive to heat and can burn easily, which is why you want to safely melt your chocolate using a double boiler rather than directly on the heat source.
If you don't have a double boiler, you can create a make-shift double boiler by using a pot of water over the stove and a heat-proof glass bowl that fits on top. That way, the stove will boil the water, and the heated water will slowly melt the chocolate in the glass bowl
How To Make CBD Chocolate (The Easiest Method)
Supplies
- Double boiler
- Rubber spatula
- Silicone chocolate molds
Ingredients
- 12,000 MG CBD Oil (full spectrum or THC-free broad spectrum)
- Cacao powder (2 oz)
- Cacao butter (food grade) (2 oz)
- Your choice of nuts (optional)
- Your choice of dried berries (optional)
- Sweetener (optional)
- Sea salt (optional)
Instructions
We wanted to give you a CBD chocolate recipe that's simple to make and gives you the most benefits from the hemp and the cacao plant, which is why this recipe calls for cacao powder rather than regular chocolate.
Step 1: Melt The Cacao Butter In The Double Boiler
If you're working with a large block of cacao butter, chop it into small, even pieces so that it melts faster in your double boiler. Once the water begins boiling in the pot, add your cacao butter to the heat-proof bowl and occasionally stir to ensure it doesn't burn.
Step 2: Stir In Cacao Powder
Once the cacao butter is completely melted, sift the cacao powder in and stir thoroughly to combine. You can remove the butter and cacao mixture from the heat.
Step 2.5: Add Sweetener
If dark chocolate is too bitter to your liking, you can sweeten your chocolate using unrefined sweeteners like coconut sugar. For a more keto-friendly option, monk fruit sweetener is a great alternative.
Step 3: Add Your CBD Oil
Make sure you add CBD oil when the mixture is removed from the heat, but it still hasn't cooled solid.
Determine the strength you'd like your CBD chocolate and add the CBD oil. How potent you'd like your chocolate will depend on the mold you're using as well. This recipe is about the size of 1 large standard chocolate bar.
If you're using the 12,000 MG CBD oil, we recommend adding 1/2 a dropper full to 1 full dropper full for 100–200 mg of CBD per bar. You can always cut up your chocolate bar to reach your ideal dose. Just make sure you mix the oil into this mixture very well.
Step 4: Add In Your Toppings
This step is where you can customize your chocolate.
If you plan on keeping this recipe plain, we recommend adding 1/8 of a tsp of sea salt to balance the richness of the chocolate.
Add in your nuts and berries if you'd like, and pour them into your chocolate mold. Transfer your mold into the fridge or freezer to set for a few hours or overnight.
How To Store Your CBD Chocolate
Because this chocolate recipe is untempered, it may melt at room temperature, so it's best to store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
It should last up to 3 months in the fridge—but we're sure this tasty treat will get eaten up way before you have to worry about it going bad.
The Takeaway: How To Make A CBD Chocolate Bar
When you think of CBD edibles, gummy candies probably come to mind—but CBD and chocolate are a fitting pair worth making as well.
The problem is that store-bought CBD chocolate tends to cost a lot of money when made with full spectrum CBD and quality cacao—but you can easily make one yourself at home at a fraction of the price and mix in your customizations like caramel, fruit, nuts, and sea salt.
If you end up trying this recipe, let us know how it goes and your favorite chocolate variations. For more edibles recipes you can make yourself, check out our Vegan CBD Gummies blog and Cooking With CBD posts.
Resources:
- Crozier, S. J., Preston, A. G., Hurst, J. W., Payne, M. J., Mann, J., Hainly, L., & Miller, D. L. (2011). Cacao seeds are a" Super Fruit": A comparative analysis of various fruit powders and products. Chemistry central journal, 5(1), 1-6.
- The University of Minnesota. (2019, August 13). High-fat foods can increase oral cannabidiol absorption into the body. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/19081313042...
- Huestis, M. A. (2007). Human cannabinoid pharmacokinetics. Chemistry & biodiversity, 4(8), 1770.
