Homemade Hot Cocoa Recipe

I used to make a hot-cocoa mix to be made and served at my college cafe. I called it Vee’s Magical Hot Cocoa. And magical it is. Not only will it kick the buns of any hot cocoa you’ve ever had (let alone made yourself), its variations are nearly infinite, to fit any dietary restriction or preference or taste.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk and/or cream*
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-process**
• 1 T maple syrup or honey***

These measurements are only suggestions. Usually, hot-cocoa recipes call for much more sweetener than cocoa. This recipe is more balanced if you use the Dutch-process cocoa (see astericked comment below). However, it is still a very personal thing. That’s one great thing about homemade hot cocoa. You can find your own sweetness depending on your taste and mood.

Add-ins can include****:

• cinnamon
• sea salt
• nutmeg
• turmeric
• ginger
• cayenne
• shredded coconut
• coconut oil
• butter or ghee

* Or coconut milk, or almond milk, or water, or cold coffee, or whatever.
** Dutch-process cocoa has a milder taste than regular “natural” cocoa, so it doesn’t need as much added sweetener. The best deal I’ve found for it is here on Amazon.
*** Or regular sugar, or “raw” sugar, or any sweetener you’d like.

Instructions

1. Mix the cocoa in a smallish amount of the milk. Stir it vigorously until it forms a paste.

2. Add the rest of the milk, sweetener, and additions.

3. Heat on stovetop over low-medium heat.

4. Don’t let it boil! Stir occasionally and when it’s fully dissolved and your preferred drinking temperature, it’s ready.

**** The hot cocoa pictured above contains several dashes of cinnamon, two dashes of sea salt, a dash each of turmeric, mace (like nutmeg only stronger), and cayenne, plus a few shakes of toasted shredded coconut, which was lovely to chew on after the sip of cocoa was gone.

What are some things you like to put in your hot cocoa? (One of these days I’m going to have a hot-cocoa bar at a party and I want to steal your ideas.)

(Shared with Party Wave Wednesdays.)

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