By request: Chocolate yogurt dip

[piccola]

I came up with this when I had a desperate craving for chocolate pudding. In the end, I like this much better than pudding! I usually serve it as a dip with fruit, but you can also eat it as is.

Quantities are all approximate. Just make it "to taste".

1.5 c. plain fatfree yogurt (if it's runny, use a large quantity and strain it)
1/4 to 1/3 c. cocoa powder
sweetener to taste (I use Splenda, but sugar or even maple syrup work)

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. DO NOT USE BLENDER.
Chill at least 30 mins.
Eat!

[LisaMiller59]

I have this great recipe I found in a health magazeen, much like what "piccola" made, but I use blue agave ( healthy version of honey) and add some vanillia,,,,freeze it, taste like icecream, which is what I was looking for, but I wanted something healthier then icecream. I too craved the chocolate so I add cocoa powder too, great minds think a like!!!!

[Caitlin McGrath]

My mom started mixing up chocolate yogurt just this way - yogurt, cocoa (always Dutch process), and sugar (or whatever) to taste, plus a bit of vanilla or almond extract - when I was a kid, for a snack or dessert. She still does it, and so do I, and it's around 30 years later. A few drops of a liqueur make a good flavoring, too.

[piccola]

Yeah, vanilla does perk it up.
I've also added instant espresso powder a few times, when I'm eating it as a snack (as opposed to a fruit dip).

[Caitlin McGrath]

Yeah, instant espresso is good, or a few drops of Kahlua. I like to use liqueurs to flavor this because so many go so well with chocolate. I add just a little dash, as you would with an extract; enough to impart the flavor without making it taste boozy.

Funnily enough, when my mom wanted to come up with a tangy + chocolate snack way back when, she started out with sour cream and cocoa, even though yogurt was a pantry staple (we called it "chcocolate freak," BTW). Of course, there was no reduced-fat sour cream back then, so it was hardly a low-fat snack. Now, she says to me, "Can you believe I used to make this with sour cream?" as it's probably been 15 years since she's bought sour cream [g].

I usually stick with cocoa + sugar + flavoring (whatever strikes my fancy at the moment), with a fairly high coca-to sugar ratio, but my mother takes the cocoa-to-sweetener ratio even higher, sometime up to a tablespoon of cocoa to a teaspoon of sweetener, but she likes it really bitter. She doesn't use any artificial sweeteners, but she's tried a bit of everything, ranging from grade B maple syrup to date sugar. She has some variation of this practically every day as an afternoon snack, so she's taken it through a lot of variations over the years.

[Kitchen Imp]

Thank you, piccola! I'm looking forward to trying this.

[Leslie]

Have you tried Stonyfield Farm's Fat Free Chocolate Underground yogurt? It has more calories than your recipe because it has sugar in it, but it is nice and chocolatey.

[krissywats]

One problem I have with any chocolate yogurts is that tang that doesn't quite taste right with chocolate to me. Do you find that with this recipe?

[piccola]

Personally, I like the tang. But if you don't, straining yogurt gets rid of most of it (the whey's responsible). Or use Fage yogurt.

[Non Cognomina]

Also, try dutch processed cocoa, also called alkalized unsweetened cocoa. It has been treated to neutralize the natural acid in cocoa and will reduce the tang factor associated with non-alklized cocoa powders.

[krissywats]

really good to know - thanks!

[kate.s]

I bet that would also be good if you used vanilla yogurt.

[danna]

I find that honey works better than sugar for sweetening yogurt. For some reason, the sugar makes the yogurt thin out, it keeps it's thick consistency (I use Total) w/ the honey.

[morebubbles]

This is SO perfect! I've been looking for easy recipes, low to no fat, & also less sugar. Great, will make this today, always have those ingredients. Thank you!