Day: November 17, 2015

Home Ec

Ed’s Fireball Hot Cocoa Recipe

The hot chocolate recipe on the back of the cocoa container tastes like bland liquid candy.

This tastes the way hot cocoa should:

Ingredients

  • 1 generous cup milk (full-fat is where it’s at)
  • 1 tbsp white sugar (just do it)
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix)
  • 1/4 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp milk for mixing
  • few drops peppermint extract
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 20 oz Starbucks City Mug (got ’em cheap at a tag sale)

Preparation

  • Microwave the generous cup o’ milk for 1 minute
  • Mix dry ingredients in the giant mug
  • Stir in just enough cold milk to make a thick mud (*)
  • Add peppermint drops using 1/4 tsp measure
  • Rinse 1/4 tsp measure with vanilla
  • Blend the extracts into the mud (*)
  • Stir in warm milk, scraping mud off the mug
  • Microwave for another 45 s or so
  • Stir to blend

What’s going on:

  • More cocoa = more flavor, pure & simple
  • Less sugar = more cocoa bite
  • Vietnamese cinnamon adds the aroma & zip of those old Atomic Fireballs
  • Vanilla smooths the taste
  • Peppermint reminds you it’s winter

Sipping a cup in the afternoon banishes the urge to power-nosh anything else until suppertime…

* Update: non-alkalized / non-Dutch-process cocoa doesn’t blend well. Mix up the mud, let it set for 15 minutes, blend again, pause for 5 minutes, then proceed. Wonderfully smooth with no powder bombs.