Hot Chocolate
In our house, the consumption of hot chocolate is directly related to the weather. With rare exception, I only make it when we come in from a good romp in the snow. That means that some years we don’t drink it much, and other years, a lot. This year it meant we were sipping hot chocolate every single day the first few weeks of January. During that time, my daughter announced that my hot chocolate recipe was “perfect.”
I had been tinkering with the recipe for awhile, but was at a disadvantage because for years, I didn’t realize there was a difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa, or didn't really care. But now that I know there is a difference, it seems obvious, and it actually does matter if you are wanting to figure out your preferred way of making warm, chocolatey goodness in a mug. Here is the deal: hot chocolate is made by melting chocolate in your milk and hot cocoa uses–can you guess?--cocoa powder. Once that is understood the next step is to ask yourself, which do you like better?
I have decided not to decide and instead have taken the best of both. I got the hybrid idea from the food blog Cookie and Kate but we still call it hot chocolate because “hot chocolate/hot cocoa hybrid” seems a little over the top.
Now that I have settled on the “perfect” recipe, I vote for many more snowy, hot chocolatey days this winter, unless, of course, the snow messes up plans and otherwise causes trouble. That would make me a little grumpy, but then I would drink hot chocolate, see the beauty of the snow, and feel the grumpiness melt away. That, my friends, is the power of hot chocolate.
Recipe Notes
Why two kinds of milk? Because we like it that way! Feel free to experiment with how you like it.
Can you use a different sweetener? Sure! Experiment. You will then be creating your own recipe that is fun.
What kind of chocolate chips do you use? We like a coconut sugar sweetened chocolate chip, but again, use what you like!
What is your favorite extract? We like a splash of almond, but once in awhile I go the minty route. But always we do the fresh whipped cream on top. Yum.
Give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups of whole milk
- 3.5 cups of almond milk
- 6 tbs cocoa powder
- 6 tbs pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- (optional) 1 tsp of vanilla, almond, or mint extract
- (optional) whipped cream or marshamallows for serving
Instructions
- Put syrup and cocoa powder in a pot and whisk to combine.
- Add both milks and whisk to incorporate the chocolate.
- Heat to approximately 125 - 150 F
- Add chocolate chips and whisk to incorporate as they melt.
- Whisk in optional extracts for flavor and serve with whipped cream on top, marshmallows, or however you like it!
