by Texas Homesteader ~
Don’t resort to the powdered stuff sold in packets. Homemade hot cocoa is delicious & only uses cocoa, sugar & milk – flavored with vanilla & a few miniature marshmallows floating on top. So easy! (and there’s a secret flavoring ingredient that intensifies the chocolate taste. shhhhh….)
Grandma Knows How To Make EVERYTHING!
Recently our grandbabies came to stay with us for a couple of days. It was cold and dreary outside, so there was no playing outside for them.
They already think I ROCK because I treated them to tortilla pizzas for lunch. And they were absolutely amazed when I pulled out some tortilla-sized tomato leather for the pizzas.
Heck, now they think there’s nothing I can’t do! LOL!
So I can’t risk pulling out a packet of the powdered instant cocoa mix & losing my “Grandma knows how to make ANYTHING” badge, oh no! Luckily, homemade cocoa is quick & easy.
Homemade Cocoa Has Simple Ingredients
Homemade cocoa is delicious & only requires only 4 ingredients:
Cocoa powder
Sugar
Milk
Vanilla extract
Optional: a handful of miniature marshmallows floating on top.
Believe me when I say it was a huge HIT with the grandkids!
Secret Chocolate-Intensifying Ingredient
I’ve enjoyed this recipe for a long time now, I originally found it on the Hershey‘s website. But I’ve tweaked it a bit to make it even richer.
You see, when I’m making something chocolate I always substitute cold coffee for at least some of the water in the recipe. It seems to intensify the chocolate flavor to me.
In this case the amount of water is so small that I just substituted coffee for all the water.
If you don’t have cold coffee, you can just use water if you like. The result will still be delicious! Here’s how I made it:
Homemade Hot Cocoa: Make Concentrated Syrup
First I made a concentrated chocolate syrup in a saucepan:
Mix sugar
Powdered cocoa
Cold coffee
This step will blend the cocoa & dissolve the sugar.
At first it seems like there’s no way there’s enough liquid to dissolve the sugar & cocoa, but stay with it. I promise it is!
I simply mixed it all in the pan, stirred it until it came to a boil. Then I simmered it while stirring for about 2 short minutes.
Homemade Hot Cocoa – Pour In Milk
After my syrup was made I poured in the milk, stirring with my whisk until it was hot.
You don’t want the milk to boil, just get it as hot as you’d like to drink it.
When the cocoa was as hot as I wanted, I removed it from the heat and stirred in a bit of vanilla extract.
Then I just ladled it into our chunky mugs. Of course we added a hefty handful of miniature marshmallows too. Because, you know, grandkids!
There ya go, rich, decadent hot cocoa – homemade in a flash! My grandchildren are still amazed that (in their eyes at least) grandma can make ANYTHING.
Superpower Status: Preserved!
Other Hot Drinks To Enjoy
While the grandchildren are sipping their homemade cocoa, you can enjoy cocoa with them or enjoy your own hot drink such as:
Hot Chai Tea
Homemade Herbal Tea (Mint)
Here’s the homemade cocoa recipe as I make it:
Did you make this Hot Cocoa? Please rate the recipein your comment below!
Hot Cocoa Recipe
This homemade rich, creamy hot chocolate recipe comes together quickly and is absolutely delicious. #TexasHomesteader
CourseDrinks
CuisineAmerican
Keywordchocolate, cocoa, milk, sugar, vanilla
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author www.TexasHomesteader.com
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2cupgranulated sugar
- 1/4cupcocoa powder
- dash salt
- 1/3cupcold coffeecan substitute hot water if desired
- 4cupsmilkWhole milk is creamier
- 1teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Directions:
Stir together cocoa, sugar & salt in medium saucepan; stir in cold coffee (or water) & cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer while stirring constantly for 2 minutes to fully dissolve the sugar.
Add milk, still stirring constantly. Heat cocoa to serving temperature - NOTE: Do not boil the milk!
When the cocoa is as hot as you want, remove it from heat. Stir in vanilla and ladle cocoa into mugs. Serve with miniature marshmallows if desired.
~TxH~
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