For this cold weather, nothing beats a steaming mug of hot chocolate, topped with a mound of fluffy white whipped cream, with chocolate sprinkles. (If you are going to go to the trouble of making your own hot chocolate, why not go all the way, with all the trimmings for a complete soothing comfort drink!) This recipe makes 3 cups of a basic-tasting dry hot chocolate mix (spicier variations are included at the end of the basic recipe)
1 c cocoa (for the best chocoalte mix flavour, use the best quality of cocoa powder you can afford)
1¼ c sugar
1 c skim milk powder, or soy milk powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon
- Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl, mixing well.
- Store your Cinnamon Hot Cocoa Mix in an airtight container in a cool, dry area.
- This mix can also be packaged in jars for gift giving. If you do, include the following directions: Combine 1½ T of cocoa mix with ¾ cu of boiling water and stir well.
- Variations: Replace the required sugar with a vanilla or peppermint sugar for a more exciting blend of hot chocolate. (the recipe for the flavoured sugars is available in the ‘Recipe’ category of this blog). For a little more of a spicy blend, add to the above mix, 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of cloves.
- You could also supply a separate jar of miniature marshmallows to add extra richness to the cocoa. (For more recipes from a Homemade Orange Julius; Homemade Boursin cheese; Swirled Peppermint Brittle; herbal recipes, preparations; homemade holiday and hostess gift ideas; mocktails; spice combinations –such as Mignonette, Cajun, Asian Five Spice, German Mustard, etc– and so much more, check out the ‘category’ sections of betweenclosefriends.com)