Sometimes, there’s just nothing that hits the spot on a cold morning like a steaming mug of hot chocolate. My usual policy is to not drink my calories, but I make an exception for a good cup of hot cocoa.
Hot chocolate with a homemade marshmallow? Yes please!
I wrote a while back about some of the things we used to waste money on, and one of them was hot chocolate mix. To this day, I wonder what I was thinking. Not only was it expensive, it’s really not good for you. Anit-caking agents, preservatives… Ick! Even better, when we make our own, and use our own fresh milk, we get the benefit of grass-fed dairy instead of the powdered milk and whey in the packaged mixes.
The crazy thing is, it’s just as easy to scoop homemade hot chocolate mix into a mug as it is the store-bought stuff. Again, what was I thinking?!
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
- 2 cups granulated sugar (turbinado, sucanat, etc. can be sub’d)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- **Optional** 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
Mix ingredients and seal in an airtight jar.
I’ve seen many recipes using powdered sugar in hot cocoa mix, but we’ve had great luck with using granulated sugar (the hot milk will dissolve it), and don’t really care for the pasty mouth feel that comes from using powdered sugar.
Note: If you’re using a coarser sugar like turbinado, it helps to powder the sugar and cocoa together in a food processor or blender.
To use:
With powdered milk – Fill mug half-full of mixture and add hot water to the top.
Sans Powdered milk –
- Place 1-2 teaspoons of cocoa mix (to taste) in a mug.
- Add a splash of water and stir it up. (We’ve found that the cocoa mixes in so much better if you add a tiny bit of water first).
- Fill with steaming milk.
- Stir well.
That’s it! Try mixing your hot chocolate with Peppermint tea to make a delicious Chocolate-mint tea!
Enjoy!
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[…] In fact, I could never have predicted how good this stuff would be! Something about the spiciness balancing out the sweetness. It smells so good, I’m pretty sure you could place pieces around your house for air fresheners. But the taste! It’s out of this world! Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, plust chocolate… they’re the kind of flavors that make you think of long evenings spent basking in the glow of a fire place. All that’s missing is a cup of homemade hot cocoa. […]