How To Make Hot Chocolate (With Ingredients You Likely Have On Hand)
Have you ever wanted to make hot chocolate, but you didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand? Learn how to make hot chocolate from scratch with ingredients that everyone most likely has on hand here.
The other day on Facebook I shared an article from The Weather Channel titled Drink Up! 5 Ways Hot Cocoa Is Good for Your Heath. Fans and I agree that we certainly don’t need to be told twice that drinking hot chocolate is a good idea.
Some Health Benefits of Cocoa
Is hot chocolate healthy? In case you needed the stats to justify making a cup or two or three…
- Is nutritious
- Contains antioxidants
- Promotes heart health
- Aids memory
- Makes your brain happy
Making Hot Cocoa from Scratch
There are some days I put in that little extra effort when I make a cup. A bit of homemade whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon, and some shredded chocolate bits make for a heavenly cup of liquid chocolate. Someone, please grab me an afghan, a book, and my cat and I am good to go.
While a cup of cocoa from a packet isn’t terrible, I knew homemade had to be better. Being a savvy (and frugal) girl, I knew making hot chocolate myself was something I could figure out. Turns out the basic recipe for a hot chocolate mix is quite easy. The difficulty is sampling cup after cup after cup in the name of perfecting the recipe. Don’t worry, I did all the hard work for you.
Hot Chocolate Recipe
Here’s how you make a super simple hot chocolate.
Jump to RecipeIngredients
- 4 c. Milk (or milk substitute – like almond milk; I prefer using whole milk)
- 1/2 c. Sugar
- 1/3 c. Water
- 1/4 c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
Instructions
- Mix cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan with a whisk.
- Add water and put the saucepan on medium-low heat.
- Stir constantly until the chocolate mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling for 1 minute.
- Stir in milk, reduce heat, and simmer until it reaches the desired temperature (do not boil!).
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
Homemade Hot Chocolate Toppings
As I said, I love whipped cream on my cocoa with some chocolate chips or chopped chocolate sprinkled on top. There are so many ways to dress up your hot chocolate. Here are a few variations for you:
- Homestead Lady has a finger-lickin’ good recipe for homemade marshmallows.
- Brown Eyed Baker offers the ins and outs of homemade whipped cream.
- If you want to take a walk on the wild side, Poet in the Pantry is tackling homemade candy canes, which are great swirled in cocoa.
- Need a bit more sweetness? How about this homemade salted caramel sauce from Averie Cooks?
Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe (Delicious And Easy!)
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Ingredients
- 4 c. Milk or milk substitute
- ½ c. Sugar
- â…“ c. Water
- ¼ c. Cocoa Powder unsweetened
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- â…› tsp. Salt
Instructions
- Mix cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan with a whisk.1/2 c. Sugar, 1/4 c. Cocoa Powder, 1/8 tsp. Salt
- Add water and put the saucepan on medium-low heat.1/3 c. Water
- Stir constantly until the chocolate mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling for 1 minute.
- Stir in milk, reduce heat, and simmer until it reaches the desired temperature. Do not boil!4 c. Milk
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Notes
Nutrition
Now, because I care about the blood flow and oxygen going to your brain, and your ability to think clearly, I insist you stop what you’re doing and go make a cup of cocoa. Maybe pair it with some chocolate pudding pie. Trust me, you’ll thank me.
