Chocolate Gravy

Sun, 10/12/08 – 9:03 PM | 21 Comments

Any southerner worth their salt has a great chili recipe, preferably a signature one. This is why I set out several years back trying out this one and that, tweaking and adding until I came …

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Home » Breakfast, Chocolate, Dessert, FEATURED Southern Favorites!, Sauces/Gravies/Condiments, Southern Classics

Submitted by southernplate on Sunday, July 13, 200828 Comments

This morning I was making biscuits when my daughter announced that she wanted chocolate for breakfast. Hey, the gal is smart. Even at the tender age of three, she knows what she needs. As I mixed up my biscuit dough, I had one of those light bulb moments - chocolate gravy. Its one of those things that old people in the south expound about, recalling with wistful smiles normally reserved for Christmas morning. Still, having been a southerner all of my life, I had never actually tried it. I admit, it did sound a bit odd to me and always has.

Today, with biscuits going in the oven and Katy requesting chocolate, fate pointed me in the direction of the recipe and with all ingredients on hand, I had to give it a shot.

In days of old, with flour in abundance and other resources scarce, biscuits made a great breakfast and filling snack any time of day. Sweets were not a regular occurrence and so waking up in the morning to find fresh biscuits and a boat of chocolate gravy was a wondrous treat. It was poured over the buttered biscuits, then the tender bread soaks it up and as I found out today - you are then on your way to heaven no matter what the day has in store for you.
Here is the recipe I used, Don’t try this unless you want the flavor to linger in your mind for the rest of your life. It was purely divine.

You’ll need sugar, flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, milk, and butter. As always, exact recipe is at the bottom of this post :).

Put sugar in a heavy saucepan, add flour.

…and cocoa powder

….and milk…

Stir well.

It will be a little lumpy but those will cook up so don’t worry. Just keep stirring. We want to stir this constantly, over medium heat. The goal is to bring it slowly to a boil. We need to be careful though, because if you stop stirring it the milk will scorch rather easily.

When it comes to a low boil, turn the heat off and continue stirring for a minute or two. This will thicken up rather suddenly to the consistency of a thin gravy. Haven’t you enjoyed smelling it all this time? Its like a chocolate steam spa!

Add butter and stir well.

This is so good, I had to show a series of photos to get to the finished product!
Yes, those are homemade biscuits, too!

I hope you can smell this. If not, get into your kitchen and make up some quick! Chocolate Gravy is super easy, but such an indulgent taste!

Chocolate Gravy
(pour over biscuits - the scone-like bread, not a cookie)

1 cup white sugar
2 T flour
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter

Combine everything except butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Once boiling, cut the heat down and stir for a minute more (it will get pretty thick rather suddenly). Take off eye and stir in butter. Pour over biscuits. I tear my biscuit up in a bowl first and then pour it over.
You can die happy now.

Share and Enjoy:

28 Comments »

1

Pinky said:

I am going to have to try this, my son is a picky little eater but loves him some chocolate! Maybe I can get him to try new foods with some “gravy” Great idea!
I should have run into your blog long ago! Your my kind of gal! I cook like a madwoman with 3 boys and a hubby who eat like truckers!~Pinky

- July 13, 2008 at 2:31 pm

2

Southern Plate said:

First of all, WOW, great blog! I love the design and overall look, not to mention the content! I am sooooooooooo behind on my scrapbooking! I subscribed right off!

Thank you so much for stopping by! With three boys, its a wonder your house still has walls at the end of the day! I’m hoping mine holds it together for another ten years! You are so sweet with your compliments and I hope you know how much they are appreciated! I have tons of new tutorials and recipes planned so please let me know if there is anything in particular you need or are looking for!!
Nice to meet a neighbor! I’m right there by the Tennessee state line!

- July 13, 2008 at 3:54 pm

3

Stephanie said:

Wow, that looks good! I’ll definitely try this sometime!

- July 13, 2008 at 9:19 pm

4

Southern Plate said:

Thank you, Stephanie!!!
I love it when people comment!!!!
I was surprised at how buttery tasting this is and you’d think there was a LOT more cocoa in there by how chocolaty it is.
Doesn’t hurt that its so quick, easy, and inexpensive to make!

- July 14, 2008 at 12:08 am

5

Tina said:

Alright your blog is definitly from me. I can quit commenting on your recipes. I am so excited to find a fellow southerner. My heart is in the south and southern food there aint no better. I gotta say I just screamed out loud when i saw your recipe for chocolate gravy. I grew up on that stuff. My mother lived in Alabama and she learned to make it from her mother in law. When i was a little girl the adults ate SOS Gravy and the kids got Chocolate gravy with their biscuits i still remember the aroma. I am going to make this for my kids.

- July 14, 2008 at 2:54 am

6

Myviews said:

Wow, that looks good! I am going to try this.. in my home my kids&hubby love chocolate.. i love all yr recepies..

- July 14, 2008 at 5:33 am

7

Southern Plate said:

Tina : I LOVE COMMENTS!!!!!! Thank you all so much for them!!!! Feedback means so very much to me! I can see the stats and know the number of hits and visitors but feedback is what I live for!!
Let me know how your kids like it! Mine were kind of confused by the entire concept. I told them “It takes your regular biscuit and turns it into chocolate cake with fudge sauce!”. That made it a done deal with them!

- July 14, 2008 at 5:05 pm

8

Mommy's Kitchen said:

This was just wonderful. It really brought back childhood memories of my mothers chocolate gravy and biscuits. My husband thought i was from outerspace making this. Like always its a southern thang!!!!!!!! I am happy to say two of my kids demolished it. Thanks Christy for the gravy and the memory.

- July 20, 2008 at 11:50 pm

9

Heather said:

This is a blast from the past!!! I grew up in the south and my best friend’s mom use to make this for the neighborhood kids for breakfast. I’m going to give it a try. Thank!

- August 2, 2008 at 7:14 pm

10

Southern Plate said:

Tina (Mommy’s Kitchen)- I know just what you mean. My husband thinks the whole concept of “chocolate gravy” is just too weird to get past. He won’t even try it!!! My kids, on the other hand, engulfed it! Hey, we can’t help our oddball husbands but we CAN raise our kids right!
I’m sorry it took me so long to respond to this, I must have gotten sidetracked!

- August 2, 2008 at 11:19 pm

11

Southern Plate said:

Heather- I’m so glad it takes you back!!! I hope you enjoy eating it now as much as you did then. Although, I bet you’ll like it more as an adult! LOL
Thank you so very much for visiting, reading, and taking the time to comment! Comments mean so very much, its the main way I can tell if I’m on the right track with my recipe choices or hearing crickets from the peanut gallery!

Please come back often!

- August 2, 2008 at 11:21 pm

12

Anonymous said:

This looks like a wonderful recipe, but I have experimented with it, and had LOTS of fun in the process, and have changed the following: add 1/2 - 1 t. vanilla, substitute undiluted evaporated milk for whole milk. This gives a much richer flavor if wanting a real eye opener first thing in the morning! Great web site.

- August 8, 2008 at 1:42 pm

13

Rosiegirl said:

I love the looks of this chocolate gravy!!!! I am new to this site and really happy to be here!!

- August 8, 2008 at 2:01 pm

14

Southern Plate said:

Anonymous: Thank you for your suggestions! This truly is a classic recipe easily tailored to everyone’s tastes! I’m glad you found a new twist and thrilled to have you here!

- August 9, 2008 at 2:04 am

15

Southern Plate said:

Rosiegirl: I’m happy to have you here!! Let me know if you have a chance to give this a try and visit often!

- August 9, 2008 at 2:05 am

16

sjs said:

Hi there. I haven’t had chocolate gravy since I was little. I grew up in TN until I was 13. I love the south.:)They have the best food.:)
Sharon:)

- August 22, 2008 at 11:35 pm

17

Terri said:

Although I am a newcomer here in Arkansas (about three years), I LOVE chocolate gravy! Your recipe looks quick and easy, thanks!

- September 7, 2008 at 8:10 am

18

Anonymous said:

My Grandfather is from Arkansas. He moved to IL and started a family and we’ve been enjoying Chocolate Gravy and Biscuits since I was a child (31 ys old now My Grandfather has passed on - but the tradition continues with me. You have GREAT recipes ~Micki

- September 8, 2008 at 5:55 pm

19

Southern Plate said:

Hey Sharon! Sounds like you are due for a chocolate gravy treat! It is amazing, isn’t it?

Terri: My thanks to YOU for reading Southern Plate! Its so great to have you here, thank you all for commenting, too!

Micki: Wow, thanks! I’m so glad to have you here. I hope you find some useful recipes!! I have a couple hundred more to go!
Christy

- September 8, 2008 at 7:51 pm

20

Teresa said:

The first and only time I tasted chocolate gravy was at a friends house. We had a slumber party for her birthday and chocolate gravy was her special birthday breakfast. I loved it! Even though I am a southern girl I had never heard of it before. Now that I have your recipe I am going to make some for my kids.

- September 23, 2008 at 12:25 pm

21

Southern Plate said:

Hey Teresa!
Can you adopt me? LOL
You know, you can actually make this with Splenda, thank goodness! Otherwise I would never get to eat it myself!
I can only imagine being a girl and getting it at a slumber party, what a discovery!!!
Thank you for reading Southern Plate!
Christy

- September 23, 2008 at 3:59 pm

22

Jess said:

Hi, I am so happy I found your blog. This brings back so many memories of living with my grandparents in West Tennessee.

We had chocolate gravy and biscuits all the time. My grandma always added a little vanilla flavoring too, but otherwise same recipe. We would also let it cool and thicken a bit and pour it over vanilla ice cream. So good! I still make it all the time just for that purpose.

I look forward to checking out the rest of your recipes!

- September 25, 2008 at 1:05 pm

23

Jodi said:

Wow a blast from the past for me! I ran into this recipe and it brought back really great memories. My aunt used to make this for us on occasion and 4 kids used to eat it up! Do you have a recipe for tomato gravy? That has been on my mind lately and I would like to make some of it.

- October 12, 2008 at 12:23 am

24

Taylor35 said:

Christy, Christy, Christy!!!! OH MY GOSH! (OMG) I can't believe I stumbled onto such a site that has me wanting to go to the kitchen, take the plant off my stove, dust it off and get to cookin'!
Chocolate gravy & biscuits like my Mom made when I was a little girl!
I love this site & love you for sharing.
Crockpot to make your "Pintos" in…gotta have it!

- October 25, 2008 at 9:56 pm

25

Sher said:

I’m from NC and we ate this a LOT growing up. The only thing I would suggest you try is to replace the whole milk with evaporated milk. It makes it crazy richer and is nothing short of a holy experience.

- October 27, 2008 at 3:33 am

26

Anonymous said:

This is my son’s fav breakfast food! He is 30 yo and always requests this for breakfast when he returns home. When he returned home from Iraq (he’s a Marine) - this was the first thing he requested.

- October 27, 2008 at 9:55 pm

27

Anonymous said:

Great recipe! Appreciate the gift wrapping ideas, too. Looking forward to more gift giving recipes!

~Lisa

- November 9, 2008 at 2:11 pm

28

Bev said:

This stuff is outrageous! I didn’t try it over biscuits yet; we only had it as a dessert topping. But biscuits will be made soon. A Beautiful post.

- November 10, 2008 at 12:07 am