Am I the only one who could go for a nice cup of hot chocolate? Good grief it’s cold outside! The “real feel” is 8 degrees! There’s at least a foot of snow on the ground. (Which is quite rare here. I’m so happy!!!!) I’m cold just looking outside. If today isn’t a hot chocolate day, there isn’t one. And this recipe is the finest I’ve ever had.
Puts that powdered mix to shame!
Let’s talk for a bit about why you should make your own hot chocolate, besides the aforementioned shaming of a powdered mix.
No, forget that! Let’s go there. The number one name-brand powdered mix where you whisk the powder into the water… here are their ingredients:
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Whey, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Milk, Calcium Carbonate, Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Carrageenan, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, Artificial Flavor
Need I say more?
Obviously, you’re interested in making homemade hot chocolate. After all, you’re here today, aren’t you? I don’t think it’s going to take much to convince you of how much better it really is!
But the ingredients in our recipe today? Real milk (I use raw milk from our Jersey cow), real maple syrup, real cocoa powder, real salt, and real vanilla. Yep, that’s it!
And in my not-so-humble-opinion is infinitely superior in flavor!
It’s not too much more trouble to mix up. You still have to whisk and heat up the hot chocolate. But with homemade you do have to measure out the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla. (Maybe the hot chocolate too, depending on whether we’re comparing it to a tear-open packet or one with a scoop.)
Do you know what else I love about this hot chocolate? It’s not just that it’s GMO-free, hydrogenated oil free, artificial flavor-free, preservative-free, etc… It’s that it actually is healthy enough that I’ve been known to use it to administer herbal medications to my sick children.
As a matter of fact, my children recently had caught a cold that left them with a dry and unproductive cough. I made them some of this delicious hot chocolate and whisked in some powdered slippery elm. While Marshmallow root could have been used too, I didn’t have any on hand. I used 4 Tablespoons of the slippery elm which is a mucilaginous herb meaning it would soothe their dry respiratory systems. Quite surprisingly, it added an almost mocha-like flavor to the hot chocolate. I actually would want to add it to my hot chocolate whether I needed it or not!
Homemade Hot Chocolate with Natural Sweetener
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk
- ⅓ cup maple syrup, (Buy Grade B Maple Syrup here)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, or cacoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Whisk everything together in a saucepan and mix it well.
- Heat through stirring occasionally, but do not boil.
- Leftovers store well in the refrigerator.
Did you make a recipe?
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Enjoy!
Shannon says
9 January, 2010 atYou had me at “sweetened condensed milk”!!! Are you kidding??!!! I don’t know if I need to try that one or not. I will be hooked for sure and my booty will never shrink!!
It is freezing here… low is supposed to be 18 degrees tonight..in Southeast TEXAS!!! This is crazy. It has been this way for several days and we are so not accustomed to it. Actually, my husband had drained the pipes, but turned the water back on at 9:30 this morning… only it was still too freezing cold and we have some busted pipes now! Yikes.. what a day….no water… not electric part of the day… not at all what I thought this day would be… TOO COLD!!
Quinn says
10 January, 2010 atOh maybe that’s my problem, I just figured I was gaining “It’s a girl” weight.
We’re at 6 below right now and not venturing out with this morning 🙁 But at least I have water and electricity so even though it’s colder, I’m in a better situation than you. Hope you have a better day today!
Have a blessed Sabbath!
Pami says
12 January, 2010 athot chocolate is one of my weaknesses great reciepe…I put ice cream in mine and call it a snowball my kids think I am crazy but love it just the same 🙂
Quinn says
12 January, 2010 atGood grief! You’re my kinda gal- I’ll have to try that next time. Talk about a “why didn’t I think of that moment.” 😀
Lisa@BlessedwithGrace says
12 January, 2010 atThat hot chocolate looks great! Thanks for sharing your recipe and linking to TMTT.
Anita says
15 January, 2010 atHave not seen a recipe for Hot Chocolate made with sweetened condensed milk, but that makes so much sense. This one is going in the recipe file and may just be tested today. Yum.
A Gracious Home says
15 January, 2010 atSounds so good. I will try it tonight. Doylene
Mary says
15 January, 2010 atThis looks and sounds wonderful. I hope you are having a wonderful Foodie Friday.
Michael Lee West says
16 January, 2010 atThis is exactly how my grandmother made hot chocolate. Not only does it look warm and delicious, your post brought back so many good memories.
Kate @ Bliss and That says
19 April, 2010 atWell, I stumbled upon this post today while looking at your recipes (many, many of which I’ll be trying!!) and just had to make a batch for an afternoon snack. It’s 70 degrees here now, lol, but tastes just as delicious as if it were 10 degrees! 🙂 Thanks so much for this yummy recipe!
Quinn says
19 April, 2010 atI’m so glad you enjoyed it despite it not being hot chocolate weather Kate! Did you see what Pami did above? That would certainly make this a year-round treat! I forgot to try it that way so I’m glad you brought my attention back to this post 😀