A House Divided
The Boy and I are lucky enough to agree about all the important things in life. We differ only on the small matters. Small matters such as how hot chocolate ought to be prepared. He feels it should be so dark as to be nearly bitter and so thick as to be flirting with the title of pudding. I feel it should be delicately sweet and deliciously creamy. He is, clearly, terribly misguided. But I, being the clever and accommodating (and apparently terribly modest) soul that I am, have devised a perfect solution.
It’s such a perfect solution to a variety of hot chocolate problems that I feel the need to share it with you. For you see, in addition to solving the difficulty of favoring different strengths of hot chocolate, it also solves the vexing issue of effort versus laziness. Traditionally you can either have the slow but delicious version of cocoa (the kind that takes 2 trips to the pantry and 15 minutes of standing at the stove stirring a pot of milk so it doesn’t boil over and still usually results in a scorched pan) or the fast version of cocoa (the kind that results from dumping some sort of suspect powder into a glass of hot liquid and hoping most of the clumps of powder get dissolved). But no longer must you suffer with this quandary. Now you can make one batch of hot chocolate essence and then use it to quickly satisfy all your cocoa needs (at least until you run out and need to make more). Behold, the solution.
1) Gather your materials. I’m using 2 cups of white sugar and 2 cups of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of chipotle powder, and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (plus some half and half and vanilla, not shown here). The 1 to 1 ratio of cocoa to sugar comes out not-too-sweet, which is good for those who like it dark. If you and everyone you drink cocoa with like it sweeter, you can try closer to 1 part cocoa, 1.5 parts sugar. If you’re in a mixed household like ours, the sweet tooth can just add more sugar in the glass if needed. You can also swap in brown sugar for some or all of the white sugar. The chipotle powder is optional, but I find it to be delicious (and not at all spicy).
2) Dump all that in a pan with about a third of a cup of water. Stir it up. It will look like a grainy, nasty, unappetizing mess. You will think you’ve done something horribly wrong. I’m only showing you this so you know it’s normal at this point. Don’t worry, you haven’t made a mistake.
3) Add in about a third of a cup of half and half (or cream if you’ve got it sitting around). Turn the heat on medium, and start stirring. You’re going to be stirring for a good five minutes to get everything to come together. You want it to turn nice and smooth. Let it get hot and just start to bubble (keep stirring), but don’t let it boil hard. Stir in a teaspoon of vanilla just as you turn off the heat. It should be about the consistency of pudding. Be sure you’re scraping the sides and bottom of the pot to get everything incorporated and keep it from scorching.
4) Turn off the heat, let it cool enough to handle safely, and pour it into a jar. This makes enough to fill a pint jar with enough left over to make a glass or two now (such a hardship). Store it in the fridge. It will get very very solid (almost like butter) when it gets cold. It keeps for quite a while (I’ve never had a jar last more than a week or two though…good things do not linger around these parts).
5) When it’s time to have a cup of hot chocolate, heat up a glass of milk (I just cheat and do it in the microwave), scoop up a nice big spoonful of your magical concoction, and stir it into the hot milk until it dissolves. You can adjust the ratio of milk to chocolate to suit your taste. We’ve found we both like about a tablespoon of chocolate paste, but I like it in a big cup of milk and The Boy likes it in a tiny one. You can taste and see if you want it sweeter, and if so add extra sugar.
If you want to experiment a bit, it’s easy to change the flavor profile by swapping out different spices (or using coffee instead of water in step two). And if you’re not feeling the hot chocolate urge, I have it on good authority that this makes an awfully fine topping for ice cream or cookies (heat it up, drizzle it on). If you’re feeling even more ambitious and happened to have a plate of cupcakes sitting around, you could dip them in the pot in step three and let them cool for a nice easy frosting. Write out some instructions on a little card (do be sure to mention it should live in the fridge), tie it on the jar with a ribbon, and foist it off on anyone you feel might need more chocolate in their lives.
GENIUS! I am THRILLED! Perhaps the little mason jars of chocolatey goodness will be something I stash in gift baskets! Hmmmm….
Yup, nothing this easy has any right to be this good. It scales up nicely if you want to make a big batch. And while good sense says it should live in the refrigerator, I’ve been known to accidentally leave mine on the counter over night with no ill effects. You, being more tidy and more organized, would never do this of course. But me, I’ve not been done in by it yet.
Yay! a use for the canning jars I bought but am scared to put anyting in for fear of giving loved ones food poisoning for the holidays. 🙂 whee! (I’ll make sure to tell them to keep in the fridge.)
Yup, I think this one is pretty foolproof. If you wanted to be really careful, I suppose you could portion it out into mini muffin cups (that’s about the right amount for a big glass) and freeze it. Then pop the dollops out of the muffin tin and keep them in the freezer, just grabbing one and dropping it in your hot milk when it was time for a drink. I don’t have mine stick around long enough that I worry about it thought!
I think your boy and my boy would get on just fine. We have the same HC issue in my house too, and don’t get me started about oatmeal. Might just have to give this a go, it looks seriously delish.
We are (luckily) of like mind on oatmeal, right up until it hits the bowl. Then I go for the traditional augments, whereas he has been known to reach for maple syrup.
And really, do try it. It’s super simple and ridiculously good!
This may require trying. We’re still working our way through a big container of Cadbury’s hot chocolate mix, but this might be good to switch to once we’re out. The Cadbury’s stuff always ends up being at the grocery store that’s way out of our way.
I like it because I know exactly what’s in it too. No mystery ingredients with 7 syllable names!
Sounds delicious! At one point when I was flatting we ended up with something similar (briefly), I think that was just dark chocolate (50%) with cream. It sounds like the consistency was similar, and it was great while it lasted. I think I’ll have to try your recipe though.
I’ve just made a half batch (approximately), will test it later tonight.
I veganized it (I won’t get into the dietary differences in our household, except to say that the vegan is the most mainstream), and it works great! Thanks 🙂
Ooooh, terribly curious! What do you use instead of cream? Water? Rum? I’m intrigued!
I used canned coconut milk instead of cream to make a dairy free version. Came out great!
Thanks Hunter, this is going to be a fab addition to the Christmas hampers I make for colleagues, not to mention DH’s Christmas stocking. skippity hop!!
I lacked faith in you and added more liquid during the mixing. I don’t know that this negatively affected the outcome, because it made some darn good hot cocoa that has gotten me through the very cold nights this week.
Heh, I understand! And as long as what you end up with is closer to paste than to a liquid, I don’t really think you can go too wrong. So glad it’s yummy!
I made this a few days ago with some substitutions. My half and half had been expired for a month so I used evaporated milk, then realized I was out of vanilla extract. I used peppermint instead and it’s yummy! I even put some in my coffee today because I was out of creamer. It tastes like peppermint mocha deliciousness.
Oh how fantastic! I’ve got a friend who has made it with coconut milk too, and she reports success!
You’re a genius.
Just made this together with my husband and it is divine! Used chili instead of the chipotle, all brown sugar and 3 cups of sugar for 2 cups of hershey’s special dark cocoa ( thought I was making for the kids…). Now it is in little gift jars and the kids can count themselves lucky if they get a sip:-)
Thank you for the great recipe!
This was fantastic. I had to add a little extra cream to get the consistency I wanted, but other than that, amazing and a bit addicting.
I can’t wait to give this a try. I’m going to make up a batch and bring it to work. I need every bit of help I can get to make my daily grind a little more bearable.