For my first foray into hot cocoa made from scratch, I started with the basics. Everybody's got a container of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa in their pantry. It's got a recipe right there on the back called "Perfectly ChocolateTM Hot Cocoa." What more do you need?!
So yeah, I was pretty happy starting there.
Ingredients (roughly measured)
2 T sugar
2 T Hershey's cocoa
Dash salt
1 C milk
1/4 t vanilla extract
- I didn't really actually follow the directions because they call for microwaving it and I'm making these on the stove. But the ingredient portions were somewhat helpful.
- Double the ingredients. If you're going through the trouble of making cocoa, you might as well make enough to enjoy.
- I don't know if you need to mix the dry ingredients together first, as they instruct in their recipe. I didn't and I don't think it was any worse off (though, if you're questioning the credibility of these reviews based on the fact that I've now admitted my execution of the samples might be suspect, I don't blame you. This was not a super scientific undertaking...). So once the milk is warmed up, add your dry ingredients and whisk well.
- Add vanilla. The best mistake I've ever made in the kitchen was spilling one of those little jars of vanilla all over when I was like 10. The whole house smelled amazing. So I'm a big advocate of using more vanilla than you think you need.
- What to do when you finish making the cocoa is a matter of personal preference. What kinf of mug do you drink it from? Do you top it with whipped cream or marshmallows, or do you drink it neat? Do you turn on a little Christmas music or put on a good movie? Totally up to you.
- Enjoy!
