Dairy-Free Chocolate Coins & Hanukkah Gelt Guide

Chocolate coins are the sweetest currency available and they’re accepted around the world. In Europe, they’ve been a Christmas tradition for centuries, and are said to be inspired by the good deeds of St. Nicholas. Australians and Americans have adopted this golden gift for stocking stuffers. For Hanukkah (or Chanukah) the coins are known as gelt, and are typically given to children and teachers. Chocolate gold coins are also shared for the New Year, Chinese New Year, and for St. Patrick’s Day. These treats often contain milk, but we have a great guide to dairy-free chocolate coins and vegan gelt for every occasion.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Coins for Christmas, Hanukkah Gelt, or the New Year

First, I’ll start with the dairy-free chocolate coins and Hanukkah gelt that you can buy. Jump ahead if you want our guide on How to Make Dairy-Free Chocolate Coins. All options in this post are considered vegan friendly, but be sure to confirm the sugar source, if concerned.

Where to Buy: I have included links to purchase each of the brands online. You can usually order them throughout the year. But around the winter holidays, you can often find a dairy-free variety or two in stores. Look in the kosher section of your local grocery stores, kosher markets, and at dollar and discount stores. The dairy-free varieties aren’t as common at natural food stores, but you might spot one!
Allergen Notes: All items listed below were dairy-free by ingredients at the time of our review. But ingredients are subject to change at any time, and all products are at some degree of risk for allergen cross contamination. Please familiarize yourself with our may contain information. If you are concerned about potential cross contamination of an allergen, always contact the company to discuss their ingredient sourcing and allergen protocols before purchasing. Only you can decide what is safe for your needs.
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links to retailers that we buy from, too. We might receive a commission if you make purchases through these links. These commissions do not direct our content, but do help to support the maintenance of our site. We appreciate your support!

Amanda’s Own Hanukkah Gelt Bag

Ingredients: organic cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter.
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: This company is on our dedicated dairy-free facility list. Their facility is gluten-free and free from the top 8 common food allergens. They also offer a Chai Chocolate Coin Bag.

Divine 70% Dark Chocolate Coins

Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), vanilla. may contain milk, wheat, almonds, hazelnuts, soy, & coconut
Kosher Certification: Dairy (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

Elite Bittersweet Chocolate Coins

Ingredients: sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soya lecithin (emulsifier), vanillin (artificial flavor), salt. May contain traces of nuts/peanuts. Processed in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy and milk products.
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

Lagusta’s Luscious Gelt

Ingredients: truly ethical chocolate (cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vegan sugar, sunflower lecithin, vanilla). produced in a facility that uses nuts, seeds, coconut, soy, and wheat.
Kosher Certification: none
Note: These chocolates are made by an all-vegan chocolatier in New York that runs their own shop.

Lake Champlain Organic Dark Chocolate Coins & Dark Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Coins

Ingredients: organic dark chocolate (organic sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic cocoa powder (processed with alkali, and organic vanilla powder) peppermint crunch (organic brown rice syrup, organic evaporated cane juice, peppermint flavor, and beetroot juice). may contain traces of milk, peanuts, soybean, tree nuts, and wheat.
Kosher Certification: Dairy (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

Lieber’s Bittersweet Chocolate Coins

Ingredients: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vanillin (an artificial flavour), salt. may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds. processed in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy and milk products
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate and dairy white chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate, parve varieties.

Maccabee Belgian Dark Chocolate Gelt

Ingredients: sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor, cocoa solids: 50% minimum. may contain traces of milk and soy.
Kosher Certification: Dairy (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

No Whey Premium Chanukah Gelt

Ingredients: vegan cane sugar, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, rice syrup powder, sunflower lecithin (an emulsifier), salt, vanilla, natural flavor
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: This company is on our dedicated dairy-free facility list. Their facility is gluten-free and free from the top 8 common food allergens.

Paskesz Premium Belgian Dark Chocolate Coins

Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, fat-reduced cocoa powder, emulfier: Spy lecithin, natural vanilla flavoring. Made in a nut free plant. Made in a plant that process products made with milk. May contain traces of milk.
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

Vermont Nut Free Dark Chocolate Coins

Ingredients: dark chocolate (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin [an emulsifier], natural vanilla). contains soy. processed on shared milk equipment.
Kosher Certification: Dairy (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Note: This brand also makes milk chocolate coins. Be sure to select the dark chocolate variety.

Zazers Fruity Taffy Gelt (non-chocolate)

Ingredients: sugar, glucose syrup, palm fat, water, modified potato starch, lactic acid, citric acid, sorbitol, flavor, sunflower lecithin.
Kosher Certification: Parve
Note: These candy coins come in pineapple (gold), green apple (silver), and raspberry (blue) taffy flavors. The ingredients listed are for the pineapple flavor.

Make Your Own Dairy-Free Chocolate Coins or Hanukkah Gelt

Homemade dairy-free chocolate coins are simple and enjoyable to make. My instructions below include guidance on purchasing your supplies, too. By ingredients, you can make your chocolate coins or gelt dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, allergy-friendly, paleo, and even keto. It’s up to you!

Dairy-Free Chocolate Coins or Gelt

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

35 mins

This is more of a how-to than a recipe. The instructions outline both the ingredients and the process!

Author: Alisa Fleming

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: European

Serves: As much as you need

Ingredients

Dairy-free chocolate chips or bars
Coin candy molds
Gold or silver candy wrappers or tinfoil
Coin container or package

Instructions

Get a Coin Mold: They have an array of coin molds on Amazon. That's where I bought mine. But you can also find them at craft stores.
Get Gold or Silver Wrappers: Again, I buy gold wrappers on Amazon. They have an array of packaging sizes and prices. These are also often sold at craft stores.
Choose Your Chocolate: See our Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips Guide for dozens of options! I typically use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips because they are readily available, affordable, allergy-friendly, and delicious. Not to mention, I can make my own dairy-free milk chocolate coins with their rice milk chocolate chips! You can buy their chocolate chips in stores, on Amazon, or direct from the Enjoy Life website.
Melt Your Chocolate: You can see my post on the Best Ways to Melt Chocolate. I like to use the countertop double broiler method. I heat water to to 125ºF to 150ºF (or just boil it and let it cool, but temperature control kettles make this easy!) and pour it into a shallow bowl. Then I place a glass measuring cup in the water, and add the chocolate to the measuring cup. When it starts to melt (a few minutes), whisk until smooth. Just be sure to wipe the water off the outside of the measuring cup before pouring the chocolate into your molds and don't let a drop of water get into the chocolate. You can return the measuring cup to the water at any time, and any chocolate in it will stay melted as long as the water remains at least lukewarm.
Mold the Chocolate: Pour the chocolate into your molds, and tap the mold on the counter several times to even the chocolate out. Let the chocolate set at room temperature for the best finish. But you can refrigerate it for 10 minutes to hasten the process. Make sure the chocolate is fully set before popping the dairy-free chocolate gelt out of the molds.
Wrap the Chocolate: Use those gold and/or silver candy wrappers to wrap your dairy-free chocolate coins. Lightly press your finger across the top to help any coin images from your molds indent the top.
Make it Giftable: You can gift the coins in mini treasure chests, mini stockings, or in little gold bags.

Notes

Option: In a pinch, you can use mini muffin cups (preferably silicone) as molds for your dairy-free chocolate gelt. They still have the same vibe when wrapped in gold or silver foil.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ½ ounce "milk" or semi-sweet chocolate coins (about 4 coins) Calories: 80 Fat: 5g Saturated fat: 3g Carbohydrates: 10g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 1g Protein: 0g (1g for semi-sweet)