Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa

What's more comforting and yummy than a hot cup of rich, creamy cocoa on a cold winter's day?

Homemade cocoa is the perfect warm beverage for grandkids while the work away on paper craft projects.

Homemade cocoa using a high quality cocoa or cacao powder packed with nutrients makes this creamy cup especially comforting and satisfying. It should be so smooth and creamy it lines the sides of your cup as you sip away.

Grandson, who's been busy cutting out construction paper snowflakes (his favorite being his "Blackout" creation)
says he loved his cocoa so much it made him burp!

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup Cocoa or Cacao Powder

1/3 cup fine, granulated Sugar

1-1/2-2-1/2 cups Dairy Free Coconut Milk, unsweetened

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the dry ingredients until well-blended and any dry lumps are removed with a whisk or fork.
2. Slowly drizzle in the milk and stir with a flexible spatula until the desired consistency and taste, while simmering on a low-heat. Be sure to scrap the cocoa mixture away from the sides and from sticking to the bottom on the sauce pan. I enjoy my cocoa thick and silky, while the grandkids prefer a thinner consistency.
3. Optional: add whipped cream or marshmallows.
4. Serve warm. If too hot, you won't enjoy the rich chocolate flavor as much. 
5. Serves 3-4

Granddaughter made me a "Bird on a Shelf" of blue construction paper, crayon and tape that I get  play a game with moving it from shelf to shelf every day. Such a clever, creative girl!

Gift Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell

Our family tradition, since I was a child, is to bring out our beautiful, antique chocolate set and sip hot chocolate and nibble on homemade Christmas cookies as we listen to holiday music and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.

Invite loved ones to share a cup of hot cocoa with you around the fire on Christmas Eve or festively package your homemade, gluten-free, organic hot cocoa mix and gift a batch to your family, friends and co-workers during the holidays. Include packets of toppings like chocolate nibs and mini-marshmallows - the kids will love it!

Ingredients for Vanilla Sugar:

2 cups organic unbleached raw cane sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, cut up into small pieces

Ingredients for Organic Hot Cocoa Mix:

1 cup organic dry powdered milk
1/4 cup high quality organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
Pinch of sea salt

Directions for Vanilla Sugar:

1. Combine the sugar with the vanilla bean in a food processor or a blender.
   
2. Process until the vanilla bean is completely minced.
   
3. Strain sugar into a container with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool dry place.

Directions for Organic Hot Cocoa Mix:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
   
2. To make hot cocoa, stir one cup boiling water into 1/4 cup mix.