I don’t know about you but when it’s finally sweater weather I crave hot cocoa. There is nothing like curling up with a knitting project, a couple kids, and a cup of hot cocoa on a cool, crisp morning while the wood stove crackles next to you. Seriously, little things like this are my happiest, most memorable moments in life.
But not just any hot chocolate. No, my mom’s homemade hot chocolate that she made every time it snowed. There’s a problem with that though, we moved 2000 miles away from my mom this year. I had to figure out our own recipe, and it had to be dairy free because my 13yr old and I are now extremely allergic to dairy. Thankfully, I practiced before we moved to Montana because snow starts much sooner here than Connecticut.
The Ingredients
Because of our allergies, I use oat milk. You can use any milk really. I choose oat milk over almond or coconut because it’s usually much creamier than the other 2. If you’re using regular milk I highly recommend whole milk, again because it’s creamier. If it’s too thin it will resemble Swiss Miss. That’s fine if that’s your jam, but I personally love my hot cocoa creamier.
Let’s talk cocoa. It needs to be baking cocoa. I love the nutty flavor of cacao, personally. If you’re looking for something darker definitely find a black cocoa.
About sweeteners, I love a simple raw cane sugar. But if you want a more caramel flavor, brown sugar or coconut sugar are delicious options.
Hot Cocoa Toppings
This is the fun part. You can really get creative here. I’m going to list some of our personal favorites.
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- pumpkin spice
- cardamom
- caramel or chocolate sauce
- mint (extract, candies, candy canes, etc)
- whipped cream
- marshmallows
- fluff
These are our go-to toppings. What are some that you love?
Homemade Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 10c oatmilk (almond milk, coconut milk or whole milk all work too!)
- 1c cocoa
- 1.5c raw sugar
- 1/2t salt
- a dash of vanilla to taste
- (optional) cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, marshmallows, peppermint extract, caramel, whipped cream, fluff… the options here are endless!
Directions
- Measure out and pour all your ingredient into a 4qt pot or if you have time a 4qt crock pot
- Wisk ingredients together very well.
- Cook on stovetop on low heat, whisking often, until it starts to simmer. If in a crockpot low heat whisking occasionally until if’s hot. This usually takes an hour or so. Once warm enough, switch to low heat. Leaving it on warm for too long can make it closer to chocolate syrup or pudding so keep an eye on it if you are using a crockpot for several hours.
- add optional toppings to taste.
