Chocolate gravy recipe
A friend and I were comparing notes about our favorite childhood treats. As I was raving about my grandma’s chocolate pie, my friend said, “So how’s your grandma’s chocolate gravy?” Huh? Chocolate gravy—is that like mole, I asked. Nope, it’s spooned on biscuits, she said. I had to admit that I’d never heard of chocolate gravy; clearly I’d been deprived.
Curious why I had been denied the joys of chocolate gravy all my life, I called my grandma and demanded an explanation. “Why don’t you make chocolate gravy?” I asked. She replied, “Because I don’t know what it is.”
I see. Apparently, my grandma was in the dark on this secret as well. My only consolation? At least I wasn’t alone.
So what’s the provenance of chocolate gravy? Because I know everything, I assumed that if I hadn’t heard of it, then it must not be Texan.
I was wrong.
I poked around and not only had my friend—a long-standing Texan—grown up eating it within slapping distance of Dallas, but other Texan friends had been eating it all their lives as well. I heard chocolate-gravy stories from friends as far west as Midland and as far south as Houston. Though friends who had grown up in Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia had also indulged, so it’s not particular to just Texas. But no matter, my family had been missing out on a very good thing.
I needed to make up for lost time. A little research revealed that there hadn’t been much chocolate-gravy recipe evolution over the years. The biggest schism I found in the chocolate-gravy community was whether to use milk or water as your liquid. I was surprised that no one had thrown some chipotle or bacon into their gravy, but actually this pleased me as it proved that chocolate gravy was indeed a classic that didn’t need any tinkering. But enough about thinking, it was time to eat.
I made my first batch and it was a deep, dark concoction—smooth, creamy and thick. I sliced a biscuit in half and plopped some chocolate gravy on each half. My first bite revealed this gravy’s pleasures. Its pudding-like consistency is pure comfort on a cold, winter morning. And while biscuits are in no way virtuous, their texture and heft prevents the gravy from sliding into total decadence, which is important as this is a breakfast treat after all, not dessert.
Does chocolate gravy and biscuits replace my beloved chocolate pie? No, but I certainly wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to pass an occasional morning with it poured on top of a biscuit. And am I the only one who didn’t grow up eating this? No matter, I am very, very pleased to finally make its acquaintance.
Chocolate gravy
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Biscuits, for serving
Instructions
- Mix together in a pot the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon (can sift if it’s too lumpy). Add the milk and while stirring cook on medium heat until it thickens. Stir in the vanilla and butter and serve immediately with biscuits.
There used to be a Mexican Restaurant, in Tucson, Az., that served this with their sopapillas. I believe the name of the restaurant was Tia Elana's. Anyway, it was to die for. We would go in there sometimes just for the sopapillas and coffee or hot tea. I will have to make this gravy, and like the idea of adding a pinch of cayenne. Yum!!!! Thanks for the recipe.
I'd never heard of Chocolate Gravy until I met my sister in law. My husband's family has roots in Arkansas, and I believe that is where the tradition began for their family. Sadly, the recipe was lost in their family when their grandmother passed.
I'm having a girls' lunch tomorrow with my sister-in-law, and I plan to surprise her with chocolate gravy and biscuits for dessert! Thank you, and I love your blog!
Howdy from Texas City!
What a large and beautiful idea. I've always preferred my strawberry shortcake made with sweet biscuit – but never considered a chocolate gravy. I only wish I had come across this before Valentine's Day.
YEA!!! It cam out perfect!! And that was with me making it. It was so simple, fast and we loved it.. Thank you again, this post made a whole family extreamly happy this morning and maney more to come i am sure of that..
I see this so rarely. My granny made chocolate & biscuits (We never called it, gravy.) for us when we were children, for breakfast, whenever we stayed with her.
We use milk in it, (But use enough cocoa to make it dark.) and while it's not by any means thin, yours looks a tad thicker than ours.
One very important thing, is to use lots of butter on the biscuits. The butter, which melts under the chocolate, is a big part of the experience, we think. We split the biscuits in half, and butter each piece. For children, we cut the biscuits into smaller pieces then, before pouring over the chocolate.
Then, we have a tall, frosty glass of milk with it. I don't drink milk with much, but always do with chocolate and biscuits.
At home, we had them for dinner, once in a blue moon when my father had to work late, and it was just my mother, sister, and I.
While my mother was born in S.E. Okla., her parents, my Granny, and Grandad, were both born, and raised, in Texas. So the recipe comes from Texas, actually.
Wonderful, wonderful food. I feel good…and hungry…just thinking about it. Tonight, however, we're having chicken fried steak; the tamales can wait one day, though I feel pulled in 2 directions! I'm a native Californian, btw, and my tamales are either shredded meat with red chiles, or chicken with green chiles, and cheese. Generally, I make both.
Excellent blog, thanks!