Moco-cocoa

On a wintry day hot chocolate is the ultimate comfort in a cup. It sure is wintry here today and cold. Bone chillin' COLD! Wind factor below zero kinda cold. Hat, scarf, mittens, ear warmers, double socks kinda cold. Bitter eye-watering, nose hair freezing, fingers going numb kinda cold. It's pretty darn cold.

So what do we do in my house? Make homemade hot cocoa! Doesn't everyone? I am not a fan of those little white envelopes you buy 10 servings to a box. I think they taste like a watered down bad chocolate bar. I would rather go without than to drink an inferior cup of dirty water, so I make my own hot cocoa. Not only does it taste 1,000 times better then the little envelopes, this recipe makes a lot and when stored in a mason jar, it will keep for a good long time on the shelf (at least 6 months). Not that mine will last that long during the cold winter months. You'll also save yourself a lot of money....this mix will only set you back 17 cents a cup.

Jesse named the Mocha version Moco-Cocoa, so that's what we call it now. Kinda has a ring to it.

Basic Cocoa Mix.

makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 oz semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a food processor fitted with a knife blade, blend all the ingredients. I sifted all my ingredients before I put them into a mason jar, just to be sure I didn't have any lumps.

To make your own mug of deliciousiness all you do is:

Mix 1 cup of milk with 3 tablespoons of the cocoa mix and microwave on high about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Depends on your nuker. Stir and enjoy!

Homemade marshmallows are the perfect topper too!

Here are a few variations you can try. Add any of these to your basic mix. The Mocha is my favorite. It's like drinking a great chocolate bar in a cup. Once you make your own cocoa, you will never go back to the little blue box.

Mocha Variation: Add 1/3 cup instant coffee powder or granules. I don't see why you couldn't add instant espresso coffee also. That would be good!

Mexican Spice Variation: Add 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground red pepper (cayenne).

Vanilla Variation: Add a half of a vanilla bean, pod & seeds.