The best way to have hot chocolate is when it is homemade, chocolatey, warm, and with marshmallows. This delicious homemade hot chocolate recipe is from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. It is creamy and oh so yummy. Top it off with some sweet marshmallows for a fun final touch. The kiddos will love this part! I used some peppermint marshmallows for mine.
Friends of ours invited us down the street for some of this delicious homemade hot cocoa to warm up after playing outside in the snow. It was such a welcomed treat. Atlanta had some beautiful, huge snowflakes last week. And guess what?! The flakes stuck and grew into some accumulation! We had about 3 inches and other places in metro Atlanta had about 8 inches! You know the catchy tune “Do you want to build a snowman? Come on let’s go and play”?
This previous Northern girl was just thrilled to no end! It felt like I was a kid again. After making a snowman with some of the cutest neighborhood kiddos and sledding down our small hill, we headed down the street to their home for this delicious treat. We finished off the entire recipe in no time at all!
This time of year is the perfect time to prepare this super easy recipe for hot cocoa. Our neighborhood will be having some Christmas Carolers singing along this weekend. Wouldn’t a crockpot of this hot cocoa be perfect to hand out in disposable cups as they stop by? How about making it on trash pick-up day and running some cups out to the hardworking folks in their truck as they are doing their tough job in the freezing cold weather? The possibilities are just endless to maybe add some kindness to someone’s day.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder1
- 1/3 cups (10 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup water
- 6 cups milk
- 1 tsp vanilla half and half or additional milk if desired
Directions:
In a 4 quart saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and water. Stirring constantly, bring this mixture to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, moderating heat, if needed, so it doesn’t burn.
Stir in the milk and vanilla and heat until very warm without boiling or simmering. Serve immediately with additional half and half or milk to cool down the hot chocolate and add extra creaminess. OR transfer the hot chocolate to a slow cooker and keep warm (set on warm or low) for several hours.
Staying warm and toasty,
