A few winters back I thought it would be fun to make hot chocolate for an afternoon treat for the boys (and us) every once in a while. I found this recipe that was super easy to mix together and have on hand. And now having it once the colder temperatures are upon us has become a tradition of sorts.
So in preparing my grocery list this week for Thanksgiving items, it occurred to me I needed to add the cocoa to the list! This year I halved the recipe. The original recipe below makes a TON of cocoa mix. More than we could possibly use.
Homemade Hot Chocolate, via
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups cocoa
1 tablespoon table salt
Whole milk for serving
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Store the mixture in an airtight container.
2. For individual servings, pour 1 cup whole milk into a microwave-safe mug, and microwave on high just until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix, and stir to dissolve. For a larger batch of cocoa, warm the milk in a saucepan set over medium-low heat, taking care not to let the milk boil; as it warms, stir in 2 tablespoons of mix for each cup of milk.
The boys also LOVE getting to add marshmallows to their cups. Earlier this week Arthur and I stopped in Williams Sonoma and found these cute snowmen for our hot chocolate.
While we were there they had some delicious-smelling stuffing made that morning. Arthur took a bite of my sample and then requested his own cup.
It’s also worth noting that the sales person helping us asked if I had a Vitamix blender and if I had ever tried it to make hot chocolate. She said when they make it in the store they put the mix and milk in the blender on the soup setting and you’ve got hot chocolate in seconds. While this isn’t an item we currently own, it’s one on our wish list.
We use the same blender we got for a wedding present 13 years ago on a daily basis for protein shakes and smoothies, and while I’m sure we could use an upgrade, it still gets the job done! I took her suggestion though and used the stir setting to mix the milk and cocoa mix then poured it into mugs to heat. This was much easier than whisking it in individual cups.
It turns out we woke up to cooler temperatures Sunday morning. Late in the afternoon we decided to get a start on Christmas decorations. As the sun was setting and we’d all been working/playing and the temperature was getting cooler, we took a hot chocolate break. It’s something they get so excited about, and I hope it’s a tradition that sticks around for a while!
