How To Make The Best Hot Chocolate
If you want a recipe to make the best hot chocolate or hot cocoa, this is it! It’s rich, creamy chocolate made with Dutch cocoa. Fabulous! Today I felt like showing you how I make it! When I was little, and even when I had my daughters living at home, we didn’t have hot chocolate in a can, that I can remember. I know my mother tried to trick us into drinking that stuff called Ovaltine which was very popular from the 1960s to the 1980s. Well, I never did care for it. It tasted like vitamins in a chocolate drink to me, although my husband really liked it when he was growing up. Let’s talk about how to make the best hot chocolate, it won’t disappoint. In case you missed this post, Chocolate: Everything You Want to Know
The Best Hot Chocolate
Anyway, I do have fond memories of watching my mother making hot chocolate with Hershey’s Cocoa. She would mix the sugar and cocoa, and then add a little water and bring it to a boil. Next, she would add the milk. Oh, and you have to have whipped cream on it. So today I’m sharing my Classic Hot Chocolate Made With Dutch Cocoa recipe with you! I hope you like it as much as I do! This is one of the things I remember from my youth. My mother loved to make things that would become a tradition. Now, every time I have a hot chocolate I think of my mom and how special she was. She was a wonderful cook and I’m glad she taught me much of what she knew. Maybe this recipe could become one of your family favorites.
Hot Cocoa Made With Dutch Cocoa:
This Classic Hot Chocolate Made With Dutch Cocoa takes a little longer to make, but it is definitely worth the extra time. It has a really rich creamy chocolate flavor. You can see that the cream perfectly whipped the way I like it best…just a hint, if you want whipped cream in a hurry, make it in a blender, BUT watch because it can almost turn to butter very quickly! LOL! I placed a few chunks of chocolate mint candies in the bottom of the cups and added the hot chocolate. Yummy, topped with whipped cream! Add some cookie sticks and it looks like a masterpiece!
Here is another recipe: CHAI TEA LATTE MIX EASY TO MAKE AND ALL NATURAL
Grandma’s Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa or any dry unsweetened cocoa
- 2/3 cup water
- 4 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- whipped cream (optional)
- peppermint bark (optional place a small piece in the bottom of each cup and pour warm hot chocolate over the peppermint bark if desired)
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Place the sugar and cocoa in a saucepan and blend the mixture. Add the water and stir until blended. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir constantly for two minutes. Add the milk slowly and heat thoroughly, but do not boil. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
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Please note*** If you want to make a dry mix: My Thrive Instant Milk Can states: 1 cup water + 2 tablespoons dry milk = 1 cup milk. It also says (to make it easy) 4 cups water + 2/3 to 1 cup dry milk = 4 cups milk. My recipe calls for 4 cups milk so I would add 1 cup dry milk to the recipe with a note to add 4 cups water when making this recipe with the 1 cup Instant Dry Milk.
How do I make hot chocolate better?
You have probably had many versions of hot chocolate. The truth is that you can make hot chocolate better by adding fun things. Marshmallows, chocolate chips, hot fudge, and caramel. I can’t tell you how much better hot chocolate is when you add these fun little treats in. If you’d never done it before, make sure you give it a try! In case you missed this post, How To Dehydrate Marshmallows For Hot Cocoa
Should you use hot water or milk in hot chocolate?
I think it’s a matter of preference, but hot chocolate is creamier whenever you use milk. The really cool thing about hot chocolate is that you can use whatever you want. If you have a milk allergy, you can use soy milk. You can try out a variety of options to make the hot chocolate however you’d like!
Can you microwave the milk for hot chocolate?
The short answer is yes, but you have to make sure you don’t overcook it. I like to warm up my milk on the stove and then pour it into the cup, this makes it much easier. However, sometimes you just have to use what you have on hand. And if you only have a microwave, then that works!
Final Word
When you are looking for special hot chocolate to make with your family, learn how to make the best hot chocolate and you can’t go wrong. We love making this on Christmas evening. We sit around and sip it and just enjoy each other’s company. These memories are what matter the most, so keep that in mind. Happy holidays and May God Bless this world, Linda.
My favorite unsweetened cocoa.
Copyright Images: Hot Chocolate AdobeStock_119042680 by Ruslan Mitin
Linda, I have a question for you about the containers that you have your food storage in. Could you tell me what name brand they are, & how much of the gallon dried product does each hold? Thank You very much. LaRene
Hi Larene, I buy the OXO containers because I have arthritis and you just push the lid to open or shut it. If you put onions in them the smell does not go away. LOL! You will want to keep filling that container with onions. The same with green onions or jalapenos. Its hard to judge how much you can fill because every product in a #10 can when opened might be totally full or 3/4 full. I buy different sizes and stack the thinner ones two deep. I try and buy them at Bed, Bath and Beyond every time I get a 20% off coupon. They are expensive but I have used them for years. I know I could use quart jars but I worry about earthquakes. I hope this helps. I use the smaller ones for the small packages from North Bay Trading Co. Talk soon, Linda
Just an idea to make peppermint cocoa, you just take a thin candy cane and use it to stir your drink. It works great ! I use the small ones for kids. You can use bigger ones if you wish.
Hi Cheryl, oh that sounds yummy!! Linda
A couple drops of any extract or pinches of any spice added to cocoa tastes great.
I love Ovaltine, my Mother served both, with out trying to trick us. I even like the Malt flavored Ovaltine, not found much anymore. It tasted like real malted milk, not as sweet as the soda fountain stuff (Carnation Malted Powder). She got it for Grandperé, but he never minded sharing. But she made cocoa with sugar, cocoa, and hot water, then added powdered milk. I never had cocoa with whipped cream except in restaurants or on the big holidays, or marshmallow either. Just plain, nothing fancy, cocoa. My Mother always had a hot soup simmering on the wood range. When we came in from outdoor work or play, a bowl of soup was available to warmup with. Cocoa was a Sunday Breakfast treat most often. Love this recipe, I’m going to try it with my new can of dark chocolate cocoa powder.
Hi MaryAnn, oh my gosh, I grew up on Ovaltine!! Oh, I love hearing about memories. I can almost picture the little ones coming in from the cold for a cup of soup! I love hot cocoa or hot chocolate, well, just about anything chocolate! Enjoy, Linda
I love a rich hot chocolate recipe. This is delicious. Thank you.
Hi Tiffany, thank you! It’s that time of year for hot chocolate!! Linda
This homemade hot chocolate recipe looks sooo good! I’m making it for Christmas Eve…..can’t wait! ❤️☕️
Oh my goodness!!!!! We made this recipe as a family and we love it! Please keep posting your recipes!
Hi Alli, oh, I love hearing you made my hot chocolate! Thank you for your kind words! Linda
I made this with Hershey’s cocoa, since that’s what I had. I only had skim milk, so I added a dollop of heavy cream. OMG! So good.
I confess to being a bit of a barbarian and using Swiss Miss Instant until I made yours. It’s definitely worth the effort–and yes, whipped cream is a must.
Hi Ray, I love hot chocolate with skim milk, 2% or whole milk. The whipped cream is a must!! Life is good when we sip on a cup of hot chocolate! Linda
My favorite brand (and I’m seldom particularly brand-loyal)–Droste cocoa! (I also love chocolate Horlicks, but it’s next to impossible to find here in the US.)
My recipe is close to yours… (for two of us) is 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/4 cup sugar (or half sugar, plus about 8 drops of stevia or monk fruit sweetener), a pinch of salt, 1/4 cup water–heat those up and mix well–then add in about 3/4 of the two mugs we’re using of whole milk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
I’ve sometimes added a little malt (may need to use less sugar). Another great add-in is Fireball cinnamon whiskey–only takes a couple tablespoonfuls. (Oddly enough, peppermint schnapps did nothing!) Definitely whipped cream!
Hi Rhonda, oh my gosh, I love a new recipe! Oh and now I need to look for the BEST cocoa you buy! Hot chocolate has to have whipped cream for sure! Love this! Linda