Hot chocolate. The words conjure up for me pictures of fireplaces hung with stockings, and fingerless gloves wrapped around hot, frothy mugs puffing out fragrant chocolate. The image is comforting, happy and bright, full of the promise of sweet rich goodness that warms you through and through. Although I love the warm fuzzies I get from the thought of hot chocolate, the drink has often been a letdown consisting of cold football games, styrofoam cups, frozen toes and lukewarm chocolate-flavored water. The concept is beautiful, but the delivery is sometimes weak.
At other times hot chocolate is so sweet it seems hard to swallow and I can’t even choke down a whole mug. Some people drink alcohol to fit in, I tried liking hot chocolate to fit in. How could it not be loveable? I was disappointed time after time.
Then I discovered that the problem was in the recipe! Maybe you do like hot chocolate, but I am a hot cocoa kind-of gal! So if you come to my house in winter, I will have the instant stir-in hot chocolate mix that you buy in packages for the sweet tooth crowd, but I will be happy to share the good stuff with you when you come.
Hot cocoa possesses a cocoa flavor (imagine that) more than a milk chocolate flavor. After trying several recipes that lacked the sophisticated cocoa flavor I sought, I found this one by Seeded at the Table. I also love it because the ingredient list is foods I recognize. I’m a little leery of using non-dairy creamer as one of my main ingredients, and unlike several recipes on the web, this one does not. Now I’m not always a social drinker, so I pared the large recipe down which also affords me smaller batches to play with additional flavors like I’ve included here.
Peppermint with chocolate is as classic a combo as chili and cornbread so of course we had to make some of that! I tried adding cinnamon, but then I had a Eureka moment and realized that Pumpkin Pie Spice might be just the thing to send my cocoa to a whole new level! And that has become my new favorite! So Hot Cocoa Mix for the purist, Peppermint Hot Cocoa mix for the traditionalist, and Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa for the advant-garde.
Adapted from original post by Penny Davidson from Life Over Lunch, November 10, 2017.
Hot Cocoa Mix with Two Variations
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Store in an airtight container.
To make hot cocoa, scoop ¼ to 1/3 cup into an 8 ounce mug and add hot water or milk. Stir to blend completely.
Peppermint Hot Cocoa
Crush 24 peppermint candies in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.
Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
Add 4-6 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to hot cocoa ingredients. Pulse until smooth.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 96mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 6g
This hot cocoa recipe is a “fancy” version of the one my Mom always had on hand (which was dry milk + nestles’ quik chocolate milk mix). I love adding cinnamon or peppermint to mine when I make it, but honestly, many flavors go well with hot cocoa – hazelnut, toffee, vanilla, etc.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yum! I love your options! You are always so creative! It might be tasty to just add a little flavored coffee creamer.