by Texas Homesteader ~
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. So I thought we’d pop some popcorn, plug in a fun movie and enjoy some hot cocoa stirred with a peppermint stick.
But there’s no need to resort to the packets of powdered stuff! Homemade cocoa is delicious & only involves cocoa, sugar and milk, flavored with vanilla with a handful of miniature marshmallows floating on top. Believe me when I say it was a huge HIT with the grandbabies!
You see, they already think I ROCK because I treated them to tortilla pizzas for lunch one day. But they were absolutely amazed when I pulled out the 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.
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 always seems to intensify the chocolate flavor to me. In this case 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 by adding the sugar, powdered cocoa and 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 simmered it while stirring for about 2 short minutes.
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 mugs. Of course we added a hefty handful of miniature marshmallows too!
There ya go, rich, decadent hot cocoa – homemade in a flash!
Hot Cocoa Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- dash salt
- 1/3 cup cold coffee can substitute hot water if desired
- 4 cups milk Whole milk is creamier
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Directions:
-
Stir together cocoa, sugar & salt in medium saucepan; stir in cold coffee & cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer while stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
-
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~
Other Easy Desserts
- Pumpkin Bread (with Cake-Mix Shortcut)
- Depression-Era CRAZY CAKE – No Butter, Eggs or Milk
- Rich, Chocolaty Homemade Brownies
- Chocolate Pudding In A FLASH
- Banana Pudding – A Hug From The South
- Cherry-Pie Tortilla Rolls
- Cantaloupe Bread w/Pecan Praline Glaze
- Easy Blueberry Muffins
- Fresh Pear Cake
- Healthier ‘Ice Cream’ Using Bananas & Fruit
- Easy Cookies-n-Cream Ice Cream Cake
- Homemade Honey Graham Crackers
- Cake-Mix Cookies – Only 3 Ingredients!
- Double Chocolate Banana Chunk Cookies
- Sugar-Free Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
- Triple Chocolate Truffles
- Rich & Creamy Hot Cocoa
- …And MANY MORE!
See All Recipe Posts
We would love this at our house! Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop! I pinned!
It’s on the short-list of treats when the weather gets chilly, Jennifer. 🙂 ~TMH~
I love making homemade hot cocoa. I make mine a little different, but will definitely have to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.
I love how simple this recipe is to make, Erlene. RancherMan (and the grandbabies) absolutely love it! ~TMH~
It was cold in the Texas panhandle this last week and was perfect weather for hot cocoa! Thanks for sharing at Over the Moon.
Us too Shelley. Even though our winters are relatively mild we get our share of chilly weather. Hot cocoa sure fits the bill then! ~TMH~
Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up.
We love homemade hot cocoa. This looks like a great recipe. It’s icy enough this week for us to want some of this. Thanks for sharing.
It’s supposed to get cold for sure Jennifer. I’ve taken leftover coffee & froze it in a silicone muffin pan 1/3 cup quantities so it will be available for cocoa when that cold wind blows. ~TMH~
Cold Coffee?? I’m intrigued! Pinning right now!
I KNOW, RIGHT??!! It’s delicious. ~TMH~
Hot Cocoa is always a great idea, even in my neck of the woods where it doesn’t actually get very very cold, but hey, I always enjoy a cup of this deliciousness! Happy 2017 & Thank you for joining us at Sweet Inspiration this weekend!
A cup of deliciousness indeed Katrin! ~TMH~
Once this cold / artic front moved in I mixed up a large batch of the Hot Cocoa mixture. Always handy when the kids come over; just mix with hot water or milk and good to go.
Extra special; drop in plain chocolate kiss or a few chocolate chips into your hot cup of cocoa. A cup of Hot cocoa sure does taste yummy when it’s so cold outside.
It’s delightful to spoil the kids with homemade cocoa, no? And you’re so right Colleen, it is PERFECT when it’s so cold outside. ~TMH~