How to Make Real Hot Chocolate and Hot Cocoa

When it's cold outside, it's always nice to come inside and wrap your hands around a nice warm cup of hot cocoa. Grocery store shelves are packed with powered hot chocolate and hot cocoa mixes, but nothing beats an old fashioned homemade cup of the real stuff.

Even if you prefer instant hot cocoa for those days when you're busy, you can easily make the instant hot cocoa mixture yourself.

The following recipes will show you how to make real hot chocolate and real hot cocoa from scratch. You will also find a recipe for making your own instant hot cocoa mixture. If you love hot mocha or spiced hot chocolate, you will find those instructions at the end.

How to Make Real Hot Chocolate:

Ingredients:
2 squares unsweetened or semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups milk

Break or chop the two squares of unsweetened or semisweet chocolate into smaller pieces.

In a saucepan, add: 2 chopped squares unsweetened or semisweet chocolate, 1/3 cup sugar and 2 cups milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the remaining 2 cups milk and heat all the way through. Do not allow the hot chocolate to come to another boil.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

You may substitute 1/3 cup semisweet morsels for the 2 squares unsweetened or semisweet chocolate.

How to Make Real Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups milk

In a saucepan, add: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 sugar and 4 cups milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously. Heat all the way through without allowing the mixture to come to a boil. When steam begins to build and a few bubbles escape along the sides of the saucepan, the cocoa is done.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

How to Make Your Own Instant Cocoa Mix

Ingredients:
6 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients: 6 cups nonfat dry milk powder, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 cup powdered nondairy creamer. Mix well.

Store mixture in an airtight container. Makes about twenty-five 8 ounce servings.

To serve, add 3/4 cup boiling water to 1/3 cup instant cocoa mix. Stir until dissolved.

How to Make Real Hot Mocha

Use the recipe for hot chocolate above with one of these two variations.

A. Instead of 4 cups milk, use 3 cups milk and one cup freshly brewed coffee. You will add the one cup coffee with one cup milk at the start of the recipe and then add the remaining two cups milk after the mixture comes to a boil.

B. Keep the recipe the same, just add in one tablespoon instant coffee at the beginning of the recipe.

How to Make Real Spiced Hot Chocolate

Use the recipe for hot chocolate above and add in these ingredients at the beginning of the recipe: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.