What is the best way (easy) to make hot cocoa?

I know I can make it with chocolate or cocoa and that is good. Do you have a rec for a mix or packet? My son likes this and I know he will not mess around with making it from scratch.

toria wrote:I know I can make it with chocolate or cocoa and that is good. Do you have a rec for a mix or packet? My son likes this and I know he will not mess around with making it from scratch.

I'm partial to Mexican chocolate tablets (Ibarra, in particular...it has a nice cinnamon flavor) when I want a quick cocoa. You just break off a chunk, chop roughly and drop it into warm milk. I usually hit it with the stick blender for a good froth and grate some fresh cinnamon over the top.

I like the Scharffen Berger Cocoa Powder for hot cocoa. No fuss and it makes a terrific cup of cocoa.

I won some Spice House Hot Cocoa Mix at the LTH Christmas party. It's really good; especially with a pinch of New Mexican Chile and cinnamon added in (as was their suggestion).

Alton Brown has a "make your own hot cocoa mix" recipe here.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/hot-cocoa-recipe/index.html

tgoddess wrote:Alton Brown has a "make your own hot cocoa mix" recipe here.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/hot-cocoa-recipe/index.html

I'd suggest making a batch of Alton's recipe for your son. It's really good with Spice House's dutch-processed cocoa powder and Nido (powdered whole milk). None of the store-bought mixes compare if you ask me.

This thread inspired me to make some hot cocoa this morning with ingredients I already had. Being an early hour, I simply adapted the "Perfectly Chocolate" Hot Cocoa recipe on the side of the Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder canister.

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T green chili sugar from The Spice & Tea Exchange in Asheville, NC
Dash salt
1 cup whole milk
1/8 t vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mug. Heat up the milk then slowly add to the mug while stirring. Stir in vanilla.

This was my first time using the green chili sugar. As the only sugar in the hot chocolate, it is much spicier than it tasted on my fingertip by itself. The back of my throat feels very warm and tingly right now... Next time, I will use only 1 T of the green chili sugar and 1 T of regular sugar.

Speaking of hot chocolate likely not suitable for children, Bar Deville had $8 Mean Green Grasshopper Hot Cocoa last night: Green Chartreuse, creme de menthe, cacao, hot cocoa. I'm going to see if I can get myself one this week.

Is your son looking to make cocoa with water, or can he warm up some milk? Otherwise, I've always been partial to Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate, just heat milk, add and stir. They also have a "cocoa mix" that includes dried milk, but I've never tried it - I am suspicious of milk-included mixes, including homemade.

I tend to prefer my cocoa very heavy on the chocolate, and typically make it by the cup - 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp sugar, hot milk and stir.

Nope we don't like cocoa with just water. We like at least part milk or mixing water and half and half if that 's all we have. I was looking for something easy like swiss miss but much better. You can add milk I think to any cocoa that calls for water instead I believe.

Mhays wrote:Is your son looking to make cocoa with water, or can he warm up some milk? Otherwise, I've always been partial to Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate, just heat milk, add and stir. They also have a "cocoa mix" that includes dried milk, but I've never tried it - I am suspicious of milk-included mixes, including homemade.

This is my preferred way to make it also. It is just as easy as using a mix. Just break up a bar of chocolate, add warm milk and stir. If you have the inclination, put it in the blender and it will get nice and frothy.

If the chocolate-bar method isn't working (it wouldn't work for me because I would eat the chocolate bar and then sigh hopelessly over the cup of naked warm milk,) does your son know that it's as simple as cocoa, sugar, and milk? He doesn't really even need to measure. The only pertinent thing the "mixes" contain other than cocoa and sugar is dried milk powder - and that's so you can make it with water. Otherwise, you're just spending money on emulsifiers like palm oil or coconut oil, and sometimes gelatins.

We used to buy Ovaltine, which makes a decent cup of hot chocolate, until we realized we could just add cocoa and sugar to milk and then eat a vitamin pill.

Belated thanks to all that replied eons ago. I am reviving this thread and still asking if there is anything new on the hot cocoa front that we afficionados should be aware of. Again, I know it can be made from scratch but a mix sometimes becomes convenient. I saw at Target today some Starbucks hot cocoa mix and then also saw some Target brand maybe Archer Farms mix in a silver can. Do tell of your favorite ways to make it or wax on about any mixes you have tried. The season for this is almost upons us.

Williams-Sonoma. Especially their peppermint hot chocolate. Let me repeat -- Williams-Sonoma.

And, for the love of all things holy, use whole milk.

I know you said mix. But if you want fast for you child-my Mom just heated up milk with Hershey's Cocoa and add sugar to taste. I am not a fan of Swiss Piss packets as they contain a lot of nondairy powder.

Mexican Hot Chocolate. It's already sweetened & spiced. You add the hot milk & whisk it or put it in the blender.

It's amazing.

hi...i'm a couple of time zones away in SoCal but couldn't resist this topic!

something i like to do is make a really strong ganache and use that as a concentrate for hot chocolate. i usually only do it during cooler months because the ganache only lasts for 10-12 days in the frig so you want to make it when you are drinking hot chocolate somewhat frequently

especially during the holidays making a big batch of ganache is a great thing to have on hand anyhoo since you can use it for mousse, sauce, fondue, frosting, etc

your son can nuke a cup of milk and then stir in a spoonful (or however much he likes) of the ganache into the milk until it melts and blends....if you have one of those little bonjour frothers that's a great way to finish it and give it a little froth

my favorite chocolate for this is green & black's 70%

=]

good idea.