Warm Up This Winter With Delicious Homemade Hot Cocoa

Nothing is quite as comforting during a cold, wintery day than a nice cup of hot cocoa, especially if you have a few hours where you can snuggle up with a soft blanket on the couch and good book lined up to read. If you want to take your hot chocolate to the next level, then you have to make your own. However, it really doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to make a truly decadent hot cocoa that will warm you up from the inside out. This recipe is adapted from the Drive Me Hungry Rich & Creamy recipe.

What You Need

3 1/2 cups milk of your choosing (we prefer whole for a really creamy cup)

1/2 cup heavy cream (can use nondairy sub if preferred)

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sugar, if desired

toppings: marshmallows, whipped cream, salted caramel, cinnamon, espresso powder, nutmeg, cardamom, cayenne pepper, flaky salt, candy canes, sprinkles

What To Do

Whisk the cornstarch into the milk until it is completely smooth and free of lumps. Add the heavy cream, cocoa powder, and the milk-cornstarch mixture into a pot on a medium-low flame.

Stir everything together constantly in order to avoid a skin forming on the top. If you want to add in spices, add them in now. When the steam begins to rise from the mixture and you see small bubbles on the sides of the pot, quickly remove the pot from the fire.

If you boil the mixture, it will end up curdling the milk and it will be unpleasantly grainy. While the mixture is still hot, add in the chopped chocolate and the vanilla extract. Mix everything together well until the chocolate has completely melted. Keep stirring until everything is smooth.

Taste the mixture and add in sugar if you wish. If you add sugar, make sure you stir it in well until it has melted and doesn’t stay grainy. It’s time to serve your hot cocoa! You now now add any toppings you like.