Rich and Easy Hot Cocoa

I grew up drinking supermarket hot chocolate mix. I liked it, but the best part was probably the little shriveled marshmallows. Penzey’s Hot Chocolate Mix was a revelation: who knew hot chocolate could taste so good? For some reason I thought that making cocoa from scratch was hard. It turns out it’s dead easy.

Hot Cocoa

• 2 Tablespoons cocoa (natural or dutch process)
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• Dash of salt
• A sprinkling of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of vanilla, or any other flavoring that sounds good to you
• 1 cup milk

1. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove.  My microwave has a beverage button which I love. Otherwise just heat, you don’t need to boil the milk.
2. Combine the cocoa, sugar, salt, and cinnamon or other dry flavoring.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients into the hot milk. Add vanilla or other liquid flavoring.

This recipe doesn’t need fancy or expensive ingredients. I made it with expired cocoa (“Best by December 2007″, abandoned by a former housemate), and a sprinkle of cinnamon because I’m almost out of vanilla. It was delicious.

If you don’t use a liquid flavoring like vanilla extract, you could mix this ahead of time and use 4 tablespoons per cup of milk. You could even throw in dry milk powder for a just add water mix that you could use at the office or camping. But that won’t taste as good as made with fresh whole milk.

Flavor Ideas

• Vanilla
• Cinnamon. Try Cassia Cinnamon, which has a spicier flavor than the usual cinnamon we bake with in the US.
• Hot peppers for an Aztec flavor
• Orange extract for a Terry’s Chocolate Orange flavor
• Almond extract. I love how almond complements chocolate.
• Espresso powder or instant coffee.

Do you have any more ideas? I’d love to hear them.