Guest Author - Katherine Tomlinson
It’s been one of those days. You were late to work and never quite caught up. You got your feet wet taking your dog for a walk. Then you dropped the leftover lasagna you planned to heat up for dinner on the floor. The dog enjoyed it.
You know what you need? A cup of hot chocolate. Hot chocolate has all the prerequisites for the perfect comfort food. It’s creamy. It’s chocolate-y. And if you pile in enough marshmallows, it does double-duty as candy.
Your grandmother probably made hot cocoa using a double-boiler and melted chocolate squares but we’re not suggesting you go to all that trouble. With all due respect, your grandmother was not as busy as you are.
Instant Gratification
You can make yourself a perfectly yummy cup of cocoa in under two minutes. Grab a coffee mug and fill with milk—your choice of whole, skim or 2 percent. It doesn’t matter. Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Stir in two heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. (I use Hershey’s.) Make sure it doesn’t clump. Add two tablespoons of sugar. (If you like, you can substitute packets of artificial sweetener, adding an extra packet if you like your cocoa extra sweet.) Add a dash of vanilla extract. Stir some more.
Drink as is or put back in the microwave for another 15 seconds if you like your cocoa piping hot.
Note: It helps to use mugs with heat-proof handles.
Maybe you don’t even have the energy to open a kitchen cabinet. We’ve all had days like that. Go ahead and use a cocoa mix. Remember though, “instant” doesn’t have to mean “bland.” If you’d like a little more taste in your cup, here are a couple of quick ways to doctor it up.
Put a chocolate-covered mint, like a Peppermint Patty, at the bottom of your cup, then pour the hot cocoa over it. Stir lazily as you sip and the candy will melt and meld with the cocoa in a delicious, minty mélange of deliciousness.
Stir in a spoonful of caramel ice cream topping (like Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel Topping) and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt for a “salty caramel cocoa” just like the brand-name coffee shop “signature hot chocolates.”
Add a dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of nutmeg and a ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract to give hot cocoa a little lift and an aromatic buzz that will take it out of the ordinary. For Mexican hot chocolate, leave out the nutmeg and vanilla extract and add just a pinch of cayenne pepper to the cinnamon and say olé.
A dollop of peanut butter stirred into the cocoa will not only add taste, it’ll boost the calorie quality of the drink by adding protein and fiber. So you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging your sweet tooth!
