Growing up, my mother would mix up a giant batch of hot chocolate mix that would last us all winter. I was always so proud of this fact, that she made it herself, and had such fond memories of her special hot chocolate that as soon as my kids were old enough to drink it I got the recipe from her and rushed out for the ingredients. It turned out to be a simple mixture of powdered milk, powdered sugar, nondairy creamer, and Nesquick.
Now, this recipe was great for several reasons. First and formost, it made a very creamy and yummy hot chocolate! But also key to its greatness was its simplicity. Take a mug, fill it 1/3 full with mix, add boiling water, embellish with marshmallows as you see fit, and enjoy!
See? Simple.
But here's the problem: when I say it makes a giant batch, I mean it makes a GIANT BATCH!
Did we really drink that much hot chocolate as kids, or did my mother give it away as gifts? Or did she and my dad drink a lot of it...with friends...every weekend all winter long?
I will likely never have an answer to this mystery (my mother just laughs at me and says she doesn't know), but what I do know is that this mix is just not practical for me now. So what's a girl to do?
Well...what do you do? Do you buy pre-packeted mixes, or do you make up your own? Do you pull out the double boiler, or fill a mug and stick it in the micro?
I do have cool idea, though, too, and I wonder what you might think...
Just a week or two before Christmas I stumbled across this Chai Concentrate recipe via the Angry Chicken blog. I made it once for a gift, and just whipped up my third batch for myself yesterday. It is yuuuuu-me! It did get me to thinkin', though...couldn't this idea work as a hot chocolate concentrate?
I did try one batch that we just finished off yesterday. I took a can of Eagle Brand and added some unsweetened cocoa, powdered milk, and sugar. It was quite good, and even my finicky husband enjoyed it. The problem there was that so many dry ingredients meant you practically had to pull out the hammer and chisel to get any, then you had to stir it forever for it to dissolve.
So, I'm thinking, maybe I could just mix in the unsweetened cocoa and maybe a little sugar? Boil water, add a spoonful or two of concentrate, stir to melt, then maybe a splash of half and half? What do you think?
If you have some chocolatey input but have trouble leaving comments on the blog, I certainly welcome all Facebook comments and emails! I'd love to hear what you do, even if it does involve eight ingredients and a saucepan!
