Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Day Hot Chocolate Bar

We had a great time with Tyson's family on Christmas day.  I got lots of cute pictures of the nieces and nephews, but the SD card we had in the camera malfunctioned and erased them all.  So sad!  That means you'll have to do with the recipe for Hot Chocolate and no photos.  Darn!

My nieces and nephews LOVED this hot chocolate.  I hope you do, too! I'll include amounts for both a small batch of hot chocolate and for a large batch.  The instructions are the same for both.  I adapted the recipe from a recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Hot-Cocoa/Detail.aspx, but I altered the sugar content and the preparation instructions.  Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate (Small Batch)
1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa (I used Dutch Processed)
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3-1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup half and half

Hot Chocolate for a Crowd
1-2/3 cups unsweetened Cocoa (I used Dutch Processed)
2-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1-2/3 cups boiling water
1 gallon  milk (I used 2%)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla
4 cups (2 pints) half and half

1.  Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan with a whisk.  Stir in the water and cook on low.  Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute.  (For your own chocolate milk sauce like Hershey's, stop here and refrigerate the syrup in an airtight container.  It will last for a few weeks.)

2.  Slowly stir in the milk and cook on medium, stirring constantly.  Cook until very hot, but not boiling.  It is important to constantly stir the milk to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pan.

3.  Remove pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and half and half.  The half and half should cool the mixture down to the perfect drinking temperature.  Serve in heat-proof cups.

We served this hot chocolate with several toppings.  I got the idea from my friend Tamra Dobler.  She serves her hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream, crushed peppermint pieces, toffee pieces, caramel bits, mini chocolate chips, marshmallows, etc.  Just line the cups of a jumbo cupcake pan with tissue and fill each cup with a different topping.  The kids and adults had lots of fun customizing their cocoa.  Hope you do too!

As mentioned in step 1, you can cook the cocoa, sugar, salt and water, then cool it and put it in a clean bottle in the fridge.  This syrup can be used to make chocolate milk, served on ice cream, etc.  Basically, it can replace the good 'ole Hershey's syrup.  I was thinking of trying to make it with Splenda or Truvia because the sugar free versions of chocolate syrup you can buy in the store are kinda gross.  I'll let you know how it turns out!

My mom made a new recipe this year called Pecan Brittle.  I'll post that recipe soon!

2 comments:

bakinggirl415 said...

Sounds tasty! My parents make pretty good hotchocolate too. They make this mix:
2 c. powdered milk
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. powdered coffee creamer
Mix everything together and store in an air tight container or ziplock bag.
Makes about 8 normal servings, or 4 really strong servings.

DosiDough said...

That sounds great! Perfect as Christmas gifts because it can be stored in the dry form. How much of the mix do you use per cup?