Foodie Friday - Hot Cocoa Mix

Hot cocoa mix is so readily available and cheap to boot so why in the world would you ever want to make your own hot cocoa mix? Because I'm just weird like that. This one is pretty good and honestly I already had everything on hand except the powdered milk and I usually have at least one little box of powdered milk on hand. You can add cinnamon to it and make "Aztec Hot Cocoa" or a touch of vanilla, or my favorite add a scoop or two to your coffee in the morning and have a quick mocha (yum, yum, yum.)

I had a fail with this recipe the other day and I wanted to share my experience lest you think everything always comes out the way I want every time. Trust me it doesn't. Ask JJ about me burning an entire pan of croutons right after we got married. I may or may not have chucked blackened, smoking croutons, pan and all out the back door and onto the patio.

There are several recipes floating around out there where you put chocolate chips in the food processor, grind them up fine, and use those in your hot chocolate. I tried and this and it was just a horrible, horrible fail. I never could get the darn chips ground all the way up and adding them to this mix was just horrible. It may have been the type of chips, but my experience trying to add the chocolate chips was horrendous. There was settling, and some floating bits, and just....I don't want to talk about it. I was traumatized and wasted my milk and coco. And we all know wasting any type of chocolate is a sin.

So, back to simplicity it is. Just the way it should be.

 

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

 

1 1/2 cups powdered nonfat milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar/Splenda

1/4 cup powdered cocoa

 

 

Combine well and store in an airtight container, I store mine in a mason jar.  Use 1/4 cup of mix to 3/4 cup of hot water.   You can add a dash of vanilla to this, some cinnamon, or marshmallows (of course.)  I will also add a 1/4 cup to a large cup of coffee which makes a pretty decent mocha.  

 

I hope you try this and if you like it, or don't let me know!  Maybe this will keep you warm as we all try to ride out the second round of the "Polar Vortex" this year.  I hope you have a fantastic Friday and we'll see you next week!