Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Hot Chocolate Mix with Dark Chocolate Bits


Hot chocolate is my way of keeping my sweet-tooth in check during the winter.  And since I need something sweet after almost every meal, I drink ALOT.  Don’t judge me, lol.  Before I created this recipe, I drank hot chocolate made with store-bought mix – some of which had ingredients I had never heard of or artificial sweeteners.  I try my best to limit these things so I couldn’t wait to try my own recipe with NOTHING artificial.



This mix has 5 ingredients and who doesn’t love recipes where you throw everything in a bowl, mix it up, and you’re done???  It’s the best!  The hardest part of making this is the cleanup.  All of the powdered ingredients get everywhere!  But it is so worth it.  I think I’m still breathing in cocoa powder :)  I was really intrigued by the flavor of this hot chocolate.  The dark chocolate gives it richness that I love and prevents it from being overly sweet.  I had mine with water and milk and both were amazing.  Choose water if you want to lower the calories.  Choose milk if you want it to have a rich and creamy texture.  Or, maybe mix the two???  You can’t beat this.  I plan on having some at home and at work…just for those times where I need a little sugar fix.

Hot Chocolate Mix with Dark Chocolate Bits

Ingredients:
3c nonfat dry milk powder
4c powdered sugar
1 ½ c unsweetened dutch cocoa powder
1 ½ c dark chocolate chips
2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Split into two large portions.

Tip: Some baking cocoas can be very bitter.  Using a good dutch cocoa prevents any weird after-taste you may get with other baking cocoas.



Take the first portion and add to the bowl of a food processor.  Process until dark chocolate bits are fairly ground up.  Some bits may remain.  Move processed mix to a large bowl.

Repeat previous step with the other half of the mix and place in the same large bowl.  Mix with a large spoon and store in an airtight container.




Mix ¼ c of mix with 8oz of hot water or milk.  Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.

Makes ~9 cups

I was making hot chocolate for 3 days between building the recipe and making enough for 12 co-workers.  I made cute little hot-chocolate kits in lidded glass jars as Christmas gifts.  They loved them!  Since I was making them for others, I took into account different palettes and didn’t add too much sugar.  I don’t like my hot chocolate too sweet and people can always add sugar to it if they would like.  If this is not sweet enough for you, add another cup of powdered sugar.  For me, this version was absolutely perfect with a whipped cream topping.



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