Growing up in my family... the weekend meant one thing: A BIG BREAKFAST. Every Saturday and Sunday morning... my mom fixed the works for breakfast. Biscuits and gravy (both from scratch, of course), eggs, sausage, and bacon. And since I was a snot-nosed kid, I usually poured myself a bowl of cornflakes for my breakfast. I had no idea what I was missing.Sometimes, though... when we had company or if my mom was craving it (and always during the week when us kids were out for snow) my mom would make chocolate gravy.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking what everyone I've ever told about Chocolate Gravy thinks.... chocolate? in gravy? Ewwww... gross.
But, it's not that. It's essentially chocolate syrup/ganache that is thinned out a bit with some milk to be close to the consistency of a gravy. Hence the name Chocolate Gravy.
Chocolate gravy poured over a hot biscuit is like nothing you've ever had before, I assure you. It's heaven. The gravy soaks into the biscuit and I think it actually brings out the flavor of the biscuit more. And when the biscuits have a nice crispy edge to them, you get a wonderful chocolatey crunch.
Now, chocolate gravy is reserved for Christmas morning, when the family tradition of a big breakfast is brought back to life. This year, I attempted to learn how to make it... but like any recipe of my mom's, it's always... "a little of this... a lot of that..." no exact measurements (which is also why the chocolate gravy is never the same twice). But, I did learn a little more about it... My maternal grandma used to make the chocolate gravy without vanilla or butter. I guess the tendency was to put the butter on your biscuit and then pour the gravy over it. My mom has always put butter and vanilla in her chocolate gravy and I think that's probably the best way to do it...
Mom's Chocolate Gravy
Again, these are not exact measurements, but they're fairly close. In the past, we've thrown some chocolate chips in to melt into the gravy to make it thicker and extra rich... but that almost tastes too gourmet (not enough like I remembered from my childhood). But if you want an uber chocolatey gravy, I'd suggest trying that.
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup sugar
4-5 tbsp of cocoa
Pinch of salt
2 cups of milk (depending on how thick you want yout gravy, maybe less)
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
Put all the dry ingredients into a saucepan on the stove. Gradually add in your milk, a little at a time over medium heat. Whisking/stirring to keep the lumps to a medium. Cook over medium heat till mixture comes together and thickens a little. (If it thickens too much, just pour a little more milk in).
After cooking for a few minutes and the gravy is the consistency you want, take off the stove and stir in your butter till it melts and the vanilla.
Spoon over biscuits.
