Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar

This might be one of those recipes that’s a little out there for some of you, but if you have a foodie on your gift list they might really like this. I encourage you to give this a try and expand your taste buds. You can attach a little tag on the bottle to let your recipient know they can use this on ice cream, strawberries or anything else you want to try a sweet and savory approach on. This can really inspire someone to think outside the box and try it on anything even salads if they love chocolate!

I found these cute little bottle sets at Hobby Lobby and it made the perfect little sampler pack of my homemade goodies.

Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar
(Adapted from The Kitchn)
Yields 16 fl. oz., or (4) 4 oz. gift bottles

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For the balsamic vinegar (yields 1 cup)
2 cups balsamic vinegar

Reduce the vinegar by half (from 2 cups to 1 cup) over low heat. This will take approximately 20 minutes, stirring often. The vinegar will thicken and coat its pan. Set aside to cool once reduced. If you start with a better balsamic vinegar, you can skip this step and simply use 1 cup of balsamic straight from the bottle.

For the chocolate syrup (yields 1 cup)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dissolve sugar and salt into water.

Bring to a boil in a small sauce pan.

Reduce the heat to low and add cocoa, stirring until a syrup begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Once completely cooled, mix the vinegar and chocolate syrup thoroughly and divide among four 4 oz. sterile glass bottles.