Monday was our first snow day of the year, so after the kids came in from shoveling and building forts, I decided to experiment with a gourmet hot cocoa recipe. Why is it “gourmet hot cocoa” you ask? Because it's homemade and has all real-food ingredients and is so much better than the mixes from the store! All the hot cocoa mixes I've seen at the store have trans fats, and even the organic mixes have powdered milk. (Read this post about healthy milk choices to find out why that's baaaaad.)
First, here are a couple pictures I took yesterday:
Building forts in the front yard!
This pic was taken off our deck – don't the trees look beautiful?
Gourmet Hot Cocoa Recipe
Yield 6 Cups
While this may require a bit more effort than using packeted hot cocoa mix, it's still no big deal because you just throw in the ingredients, stir, and heat it up -- the result is worth it! And it's so much better for you, too.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter, pastured butter is best
- 5 cups whole milk, preferably raw milk, never reduced fat milks!
- 2-3 raw egg yolks
- 1/2 cup raw cream – more if you can spare it, just decrease the milk (you don't have to use cream, it just makes it…you guessed it, creamier! If you use store-bought cream, don't buy ultra-pasteurized. <– Read that link to learn why!)
- 1/4 cup palm or coconut or other natural sugar (add a little more if you need it after taste-testing, but obviously less is better)
- 1/8 cup raw honey or real maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or a little more if you like it to have an even richer chocolate taste)
- 1 scoop of this collagen for extra nutrition, and you can't taste it! It's made from pasture-raised cows and gives you extra protein and nutrients for your nails, skin, hair, and joints. It even supports gut health and can help reduce inflammation. (Discount with the code KOP.)
- 1-2 Tablespoons of MCT oil if you have it, for so many extra health benefits! <-- Scroll down at that link to read them all. If you get some, use the code KOP for a discount.)
- Optional: a little real whipped cream, and a sprinkle more of cocoa powder or mini chocolate chips for the top, we like these allergen-free chocolate chips
Instructions
Simply whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan on low heat to retain more nutrition. Use a ladle to serve
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The kids love it when I let them drink it from our glass coffee cups, and around Christmas time I'll plop a small candy cane on the rim for an extra special treat. I found these organic candy canes so they don't have all the junk in them that regular ones do like corn syrup, or fake chemical colors and preservatives!
Let me know if you love this gourmet hot cocoa as much as we do!
More you might like:
Oh this sounds heavenly
Yes Ma’am! That is some great looking cocoa! I LOVE the idea of adding egg yolks (nutrition/texture/flavor perspectives), I’ve done it before and was very happy with the results. I’ve also been known to toss in a little coconut oil, we love how it tastes! I look forward to trying yours! Thank you for sharing this!
I’m going to try this!
I’ve been making our hot cocoa with Frontier dutch process cocoa too, as well as adding my homemade vanilla extract. I don’t like the dutch process as much as raw cacao, but it’s cheaper and you’re heating it anyway. I don’t get a lot of raw cream, so I don’t like to use it for cocoa. Much rather put it into ice cream. My kids wouldn’t like it so thick either (with the cream AND eggs). And we eat plenty of our own fresh pastured eggs already. But thanks for the yummy sounding recipe, Kelly. Just lets everyone know that it is a LOT EASIER to be natural than you think!
and PS, I’m somehow not getting your facebook posts OR email posts anymore. AND I’M A LIFETIME MEMBER…HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
Feedburner drives me CRAZY. When I’m at my computer later I’ll try to go in & delete you so you can resubscribe.
And I have no idea what’s going on w/ Facebook. Are you subscribed to me at Kelly KitchenKop or to my PAGE: Kelly the Kitchen Kop?
Kel
Yes we’re near GR. 🙂
You must be on the west side of the state. We are near Ann Arbor and just got some light snow and ice.
i can’t find anything but ultra pasturized cream around my area. does anyone know a brand that isn’t ultra pasturized?
Have you tried health food stores?
Also try asking your local WAP chapter leader!
Kelly
A lot of ingredients! Is there a rationale behind 2 kinds of sweetener, egg yolk, milk + cream, etc?
I just use
half & half (I find cream to be too rich)
100% unsweetened cocoa chips or 80-90% dark chocolate baking chunks (best quality available, organic, fair trade,etc.)
Cinnamon
Vanilla
pinch of salt
I don’t always sweeten it. If I do, I’ll use coconut sugar or rapidura. If I use 100% unsweetened, I need a little sweetener (amazingly the cinnamon cuts down on the need). For the dark chocolate, I don’t add sweetener at all, since there is a little sugar in the baking chunks. My preference is for professional chocolates which have very few added ingredients.
Funny you ask that because when I made it today I just used a little maple syrup for sweetener and no butter, I figured the cream had that covered.
The egg yolks make it creamier in my opinion and add a hit of extra nutrients. 🙂
Kelly
The more I’ve thought about it, what you’ve got here is a lightly cooked custard, yes?
Well not really, it’s very thin like you’d expect hot cocoa to be.
Kelly
Creme anglaise is a thin custard! Your recipe has many more derivations than you might have realized at the time!
I think it’s possible to get a thicker creme anglaise by heating longer or a little higher. add a few more egg yolks and your mixture will thicken a bread pudding nicely.
A few more tweaks and a baked custard is born!
I do love custard!!! 🙂
Hi – you can find great candy canes – at whole foods markets
I make hot chocolate with coconut milk, raw cocoa and stevia – it is delicious!
Oh good, my sister is going to WFM for me next week so I’ll have her get me some. Thanks!
Thanks for the update, Kelly. I used to make my own “instant hot cocoa” using (ugg!) powdered milk with cocoa and rapadura. But this sounds sooo much yummier.
DeDe-thanks for the clarification. I’m not all that familiar with stevia other than having seen it at the farmer’s market and trying to grow a plant.
We have dairy goats and use their milk for hot cocoa. I also bought organic chocolate syrup for ice cream and decided to try that for hot cocoa and it works well enough for a quick mug in the morning.
Kelly-have you not had Mounds or Almond Joy candy bars? A little coconut oil in the hot cocoa tastes just like that!
You mentioned egg yolks……are they missing from the ingredients list? I am going to make this recipe right away……snow is coming down in TN!
Sorry guys, I must not have used egg yolks in my hot cocoa when I originally posted this recipe, but I sure do now! It’s so good and creamy and extra nutritious. I just updated the recipe, thanks for catching that and letting me know!
Also, to add to my previous comment: if you put some stevia powder in a jar and add water, let it sit a few days, you get liquid stevia. Therefore, Stevia isn’t processed much at all either way.
I’ve never had green stevia. However, if you take a stevia plant, pick a stem, let it dry, the veins become white and powdery = white stevia.
I’d also like to know about the egg yolks… do some go in this recipe?
thanks, for the recipe,
DeDe
Stevia is a plant. If you get the green kind, it’s most likely going to be 100% pure plant material, but I won’t swear to that! We bought one this summer at the farmer’s market, but the chickens ate it. I plucked a leaf before buying to see what it tasted like and it was very sweet. I’ve never tried anything but the green powder beyond that though.
Kelly-your comments in the post mentioned raw egg yolks, but I don’t see that in the recipe. Were simply stating that lightly warmin raw milk or eggs keeps most of the benefits or are there supposed to be egg yolks in the hot chocolate?
I don’t know but it might be interesting to call the company and ask more about how it’s made…
I buy an organic heavy cream at my local grocery store that is vat pasteurized in small batches. And I also purchased a liquid chocolate flavored stevia from Sweet Leaf that really is tolerable, my kids love it, you have to be careful not to use too much, only a few drops per mug. I prefer using cocoa powder and cane sugar for hot cocoa, but the stevia works when I’m in a time pinch and makes a delicious cold chocolate milk alternative. I have also used the lemon lime liquid stevia to make soda alternative. My only question is how processed this stuff is, is it actually healthy? Anyone know?
YUM. I make mine with Cocoa and Sucanat and raw whole milk. My kids have been enjoying it almost every afternoon. It does deplete the milk supply rather quickly, though.
You read my mind. I was just about to look for a healthy hot cocoa recipe. Thank you!
Meijer also carries non-ultra-pasteurized half and half, and it’s the best price in town! I refuse to give up my coffee… : )
You have your very own jersey cow? I’m jealous! Haven’t talked Kent into that one yet, LOL!
Kelly
mmmmm….just tried this! I left out the honey and just used 1/4 c. sugar. Perfecly yummy!
We have our own jersey cow and her cream is the best. I am more than happy to give up Swiss Miss!
Thanks
That looks divine! I’m a milk and chocolate lover, so I’m sure I’d love that recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Toni,
Try this site to find a local raw milk source: https://www.realmilk.com/where.html
Merry Christmas!
Kelly
What a perfect treat after playing in the snow. Yum! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, yum! That looks delicious. We used to get raw milk back when we lived in VA. I haven’t found a reasonable supplier yet here in MD. I love the presentation too! Very cute!
Toni
I tried it with some stevia (liquid, with fillers, I’m sure, but it’s what I’ve been putting in my plain yogurt) and it wasn’t sweet enough, and I was afraid of turning it bitter, so I added some agave nectar. The combination seemed to do the trick!
For those of you in Grand Rapids, Heffron Farms also sells non-ultra paturized heavy cream by Country Dairy. Also, where did someone find those candy canes in town, Kelly??? Have a wonderful day drinking your hot cocoa, everyone (here it is snowing like crazy!!!)
Sue E.
Diana,
I’ll bet I have the icky kind of Stevia then, I’ll have to try that with the better stuff.
Thanks!
Kelly
Good morning Henriette…although it may not be morning where you are across the ocean – remind me, you're in England, right?
I don't know if I'd like chocolate & coconut together, but I'm going to try it – thanks for the tip!
Kelly
I don
Kelly and Samann-
Just wanted to let you both know that I tried Homemade hot cocoa, with light cream,(pasterized only) and stevia just last night and it was great!
A note on Stevia: I have found that you need to use pure stevia. Try to find some that has no fillers/ extenders. The kind I use, after trying many, is by NOW, is is organic stevia, nothing else. It comes with the cutest litle spoon! In fact, it is a one ounce bottle, and contains 622 servings. Always add just 1 spoonful to start. You can always add more, but you cant take it back out. If you overdo it, you can end up with a bitter taste ( especially if it has fillers). So take it easy. Personally, Stevia has been the greatest discovery I’ve made. It helped me kick a 20+ year Nutrasweet habit. (Yuck!!).
Good Luck!
Diana
Samann,
I’m afraid to try it, I’ve had bad luck with Stevia before – if you try it, let us know!
Kelly
Hi everyone!
–Someone told me recently that they saw those same candy canes at the dollar store!
–We have regular pasteurized cream at our local Meijer! It’s Meijer brand, in a purplish carton! 🙂 I’ve called them to say thank you for having it, so hopefully they’ll continue. (I also wish I could find a source for local raw cream, but our farmer doesn’t sell it either…)
–Anna, I had never heard of a mini cream whipper before!
–I use the same cocoa powder as Sue mentioned.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
Kelly
Has anyone had any luck with using Stevia in place of some or all of the other sweeteners? That would make my midwives happier with me. 🙂
Ironically, just yesterday I was thinking that I needed to find a good hot cocoa recipe, and why am I *not* surprised that dear Kelly came through?! 🙂 Thanks to you, friend, and to all of the others who sent in valuable comments!
I have had quite a time trying to find raw cream (still looking, since my raw milk farmer doesn’t have a cream separator). And I agree with the comment that ultra-pasteurized (the UHT kinds) are everywhere! I can find only one place in all of Kalamazoo that sells Organic Valley pasteurized cream. Meijer sells Organic Valley ultra-pasteurized. Suggestion: why don’t a bunch of us request that Meijer picks up the Organic Valley non-ultra kind? There’s strength in numbers! 🙂
–Julie L.
P.S. Where is a Trader Joe’s that offers that non-ultra kind? I’ve been to two (in Ann Arbor and in downtown Chicago) that told me they only sell the ultra-kind. Phooey!
If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they sell a pint of heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized (not raw, though) for a very reasonable price. They also carry organic heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized, and for a lower price than other places. I stopped into one of those new small neighborhood Fresh & Easy stores (owned by UK's Tesco grocery store corporation) recently and they had pints of just pasteurized heavy cream for a good price (good prices on nice dark chocolate, too).
Also, some heavy or whipping creams still have the barely legal minimum butterfat for their category, and they add gums to thicken it artificially. Trader Joe's versions are a higher butter fat %.
This probably isn't a surprise, but our family takes our hot cocoa unsweetened! My son prefers his made with steamed (frothed) milk from our espresso machine. I prefer mine made with heavy cream and hot water.
Both versions start with a generously rounded teaspoon of Dutched cocoa (my friend and I split an order to get free shipping, each buying a 2 kilo bag of Callebaut from chocolatesource.com) blended with a Tablespoon or two of hot water to make a smooth paste. (if you are adding a sweetener, like I do for guests, add it to the cocoa now). Then I add half a cup of milk, stir to mix, and then forth it for my son's cocoa.
If I'm making more than one mug at a time, then I froth a small s/s pitcher of milk separately and add it to the cocoa paste in each mug and stir. That way he can have it our usual way (unsweetened) and his friends can have it the way they expect it.
For my cocoa, I add several Tablespoons of heavy/whipping cream to the cocoa paste (about a generous half inch in the mug?), stir to mix, then fill up with hot water and stir again. Mmmm. I also sometimes add a shot of espresso for a mocha.
Cinnamon is nice to add with the cocoa, too. It doesn't mix as well later.
My friend heats the milk on the stove in a pan, then froths it with a small electric frother (Ikea used to sell a really cheap one for less than $5), then pours it into each mug with the sweet cocoa paste.
So many variations on method, but cocoa is soooo good!
I'll put in a plug for iSi cream whippers, too, because ours is getting a lot of use this time of year. Smart & Final has the best prices on the device and the gas charger refills (have to ask for them), but these are also available at better kitchenware stores like Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma. Pour in the heavy cream, any flavoring extracts or sweetener, put the top on, load the gas chargers into the whipper, shake a bit to mix the gas with the cream, remove the charger cartridge (recyclable steel), then dispense the whipped cream. Remove, rinse, and replace the nozzle before replacing in the fridge. Cream will keep several weeks this way (if the cream holds out).
You have complete control over what does or doesn't go into the whipped cream for flavor and sweetening (I usually use just cream) and the heavy cream holds its form much better than those cans of "Light" cream full of artificial stuff sold in grocery stores. Of course, if I need a lot of whipped cream at one time, I just whip it in my mixer. The iSi cream whipper is great for an elegant shot of cream here and there on fruit, yogurt, desserts, cocoa, pancakes, etc., though.
Of course, if you have teenagers, keep an eye on the chargers. Apparently "whipits" (as they are called) are popular for getting a short-lived high. That's why you have to ask for them in the stores. I've never tried it, though. I'm so boring, high quality cocoa and whipped cream with espresso are enough of a high for me.
I get my cocoa from our co-op. It is in a 16 oz bag, Frontier Organic, Dutch Cocoa Powder. I have made my own hot chocolate for several years now, but it isn’t as fancy as Kelly’s. Mine is simple: 4 c. whole milk, 1-2 Tbsp. organic sugar, and 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder. I whisk it all together and heat on the stove. The kids like it (it is really all they know), but I did notice that when a neighbor came over for hot cocoa one day, he didn’t finish his (must not be very sweet!).
Sue E.
Any recommendations on cocoa? I have purchased no artificial flavors, colors or preservative candy canes in my local organic/natural foods store for both the holidays and the cocoa. They taste wonderful, are healthier and are kid approved…
Can you even FIND non-raw cream that isn’t ultra-pasturized? I can’t in our grocery store. Everything, even the organic and the stuff from the local dairy is ultra-high pasturized. I sure was happy to finally find a source for raw milk and cream. It keeps for 2 weeks, too, so who need that ultra-high stuff. 🙂