Hot Chocolate

Here in Central Indiana we are blanketed in a beautiful snowfall. There is something so peaceful about watching the snow come down and the quiet that it brings. My kids love nothing more than going out and playing in the snow, and I am just as content sitting on the couch in my comfy pants by the window watching them play together. My girls will play forever outside. My youngest, J, will play for about as long as it takes me to get his millions of layers of clothes on and then he is back inside…nose glued to the window staring at his big sisters. He tries so hard to keep up, but sometimes he just can’t. I have to say there are times I am guilty of relishing in those moments when he still seems little. They are few and far between these days and I know he is my last “baby.”

As I am sure all mamas know, when little ones come inside from playing in the snow the first thing they want is HOT CHOCOLATE!!! Well, mine do anyway! This recipe took a lot of tinkering. I really wanted a homemade hot chocolate recipe that could be made in the microwave so that kids could make it themselves, or with limited help from parents. I didn’t want it to be powder-y, like what you get in hot chocolate packets, but instead more like what you would order at a coffee shop. Many, many, batches later this recipe came to be. I made it for my Teen Class this past weekend and they said it was the BEST Hot Chocolate they have ever had. Now let me just tell you that teens don’t just throw compliments around! So I took this as a HUGE pat on the back!

When you make your hot chocolate be sure to really whisk, whisk, whisk!!! I want that “ganache” or “syrup” to be smooth! Otherwise, it’s not going to dissolve properly into your milk. Taste your hot chocolate. Is it too sweet to you? Not sweet enough? Adjust! You get to be the chef. The beautiful thing about cooking is learning your own palate and what you like and dislike.

So head on into the kitchen and whip up some of this hot chocolate and then go snuggle those babies of yours by the fire and watch the snow falling.

Here’s the link to the recipe: Hot Chocolate