words by: Merissa A. Alink

Last year I had this secret little addiction. Each morning, when I would get up to work in the winter, it was still dark out and kind of depressing (I always get up at least an hour or 2 before everyone else so I can actually get something done). The house was so cold and uninviting. So I’d pull out my saucepan and whip myself up a warm glass of homemade hot chocolate to enjoy while I worked and woke up.

Last year I did things the “cheater” way and used milk and chocolate chips, but this year I wanted to come up with something even easier so all I had to do was just warm up the milk. Thus the invention of this super simple homemade hot chocolate mix (without powdered milk). With just 3 ingredients it’s easy to make up the mix in a hurry. Then, when you are ready for a glass, all you need to do is simply add it to warm milk and your hot drink is ready to go.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup ground sucanat (brown sugar or raw sugar work as well)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions: 

1. In a blender, add the cocoa powder and turbinado sugar (sucanat).
2. Blend until the sugar is powdered.
3. Add in the salt and place in a jar, container, or bag for storage.
4. Mix one heaping tablespoon of mix per one cup of hot milk.
5. Stir and enjoy!

If you are dairy-free, this recipe will still work great for you! You don’t need to change the mix recipe, but you can add it to warm coconut milk instead of dairy milk. This mixture will make at least 12 cups of hot chocolate.