Chocolate Syrup Canning Recipe with Simple Ingredients
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Click HERE to read my policies & disclaimers if you're interested. I will only link products I use and personally recommend. Thank you for your support, friends!
This homemade chocolate syrup recipe (or homemade chocolate sauce… I never know what to correctly call it lol) is a MUST HAVE on my shelves. I use it for hot chocolate for the kids after a big day of snowman building, to make my favorite peppermint mocha coffee creamer, for ice cream topping, to ice brownies, and for gifting to friends to make their own hot cocoa or coffee creamers. It’s super simple and has only 6 ingredients you very likely have in your home – cocoa powder, water, sugar, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Hershey’s syrup, who?! You can make your OWN homemade chocolate syrup with more wholesome ingredients in a short amount of time.
Let’s talk about those ingredients in Hershey’s syrup….
and whyyy did I just make it with only 6….
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Corn Syrup
- Water
- Sugar
- Cocoa*
- Potassium Sorbate (preservative)
- Salt
- Xanthan Gum
- Mono and Diglycerides
- Polysorbate 60
- Vanillin (artificial flavoring)
Check out my peppermint mocha coffee creamer recipe made with this chocolate sauce here!
​Let’s get started!
Equipment You Might Want:
- Stock Pot
- Whisk
- Half pint or pint canning jars
- Canning Lids & Screw Bands
- Water bath canning pot
- Steam Canner
Ingredients:
- 3 cups water (see notes)
- 6 cups raw unrefined pure cane sugar
- 3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 Tbs maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbs vanilla extract
Step 1: Prepare
Add all ingredients to a stock pot. Place over medium heat and bring mixture to a gentle simmer slowly, whisking almost constantly until sugar dissolves.
Once mixture comes to a gentle bubble and appears to have thickened slightly, remove from heat. The sauce will thicken further during canning and then cooling.
Step 2: Canning
Ladle chocolate syrup into prepared mason jar to 1/2-inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles and add more if needed to maintain headspace.
Wipe jar rims and add lids and secure with screw bands.
Place pint or half pint jars in your steam canner or water bath canner submerged by at least 1 inch of water and process at a full rolling boil for 15 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if necessary.
Once processing time is complete, remove jars from canner to cool on a heat proof surface lined with a towel undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
Step 3: Storage
After cooling, remove bands and test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a room temperature or cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Proper storage conditions are about 55-70 degrees F.
Shelf life is until you use is. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for maximum palatability and flavor, but they’ll last much longer if you need them to. For us, homemade syrup FLIES off the shelf…. I’m the problem :D
Step 4: To Use
To make hot cocoa: add about 1/4 cup of chocolate syrup to a mug of warm milk and stir, topping with homemade marshmallows.
Chocolate milk: add 1 half pint jar to a half gallon of raw goat milk (the best milk ever) and shake ’til mixed. Try not to drink an entire gallon.
Notes:
You can sub whole milk for the water in this recipe to make milk chocolate syrup. Using milk makes this recipe rebel canning, so do at your own discretion, and increase canning times to 25 minutes (adjusting that for altitude if necessary).
If you’re not comfortable canning this, you can cool it and store it in an airtight container or squeeze bottle in the fridge until it goes bad… which will be a while.
Chocolate Syrup Canning Recipe with Simple Ingredients
Print Pin RateEquipment
- stock pot
- whisk
- Half-pint or pint canning jars
- Canning lids & screw bands
Ingredients
- 3 cups water see notes
- 6 cups raw unrefined pure cane sugar
- 3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 Tbs maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbs vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a stock pot. Â Place over medium heat and bring mixture to a gentle simmer slowly, whisking almost constantly until sugar dissolves.
- Once mixture comes to a gentle bubble and appears to have thickened slightly, remove from heat. Â The sauce will thicken further during canning and then cooling.
- Ladle chocolate syrup into prepared mason jar to 1/2-inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles and add more if needed to maintain headspace.
- Wipe jar rims and add lids and secure with screw bands.
- Place pint or half pint jars in your steam canner or water bath canner submerged by at least 1 inch of water and process at a full rolling boil for 15 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if necessary.
- Once processing time is complete, remove jars from canner to cool on a heat proof surface lined with a towel undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
- After cooling, remove bands and test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a room temperature or cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Â Proper storage conditions are about 55-70 degrees F.
- Shelf life is until you use is. Â Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for maximum palatability and flavor, but they'll last much longer if you need them to.
To Use
- To make hot cocoa: Â add about 1/4 cup of chocolate syrup to a mug of warm milk and stir, topping with homemade marshmallows.
- Chocolate milk: add 1 half pint jar to a half gallon of raw goat milk (the best milk ever) and shake 'til mixed. Â Try not to drink an entire gallon.
