Another Milestone: Independent Chocolate Gravy Consumption

I finally let go of the reins--I mean, the spoon. I suppose at nineteen months it's about time. Like the rest of the family, Eva took to feeding herself with gusto, and though the pictures may seem to imply otherwise, she does remarkably well with keeping her hands out of the bowl and hitting her intended target with her full utensil.

I've had a recipe request for Chocolate Gravy (which really does taste better than it looks mixed with eggs in a baby bowl or smeared all over Eva). I keep the version my Grandma Sanders used on hand for sentimental/historical reasons, but the recipe I currently use was passed along by a friend after hearing me lament the difficulty of achieving a proper consistency with the old recipe. The secret is in the butter, which was completely absent in the family recipe.

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Chocolate Gravy

1/2 c. butter

4 T. cocoa

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar*

2 c. milk

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add cocoa and flour, stir until a thick paste is formed. Stir in sugar and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Serve over baking powder biscuits and top with whipped cream. **

*I now skip the sugar and stir in agave nectar to taste at the very end.

**I also like to make a triple batch in my Bertha "skillet" and chill the leftovers for pudding.