Got Hot Chocolate? I Didn’t. . .
I seriously needed to cut my sugar intake but hot cocoa just calls my name. . .especially during the chilly months. And, if you know anything about me at all, you know my motto is: If it’s not chocolate, it’s not worth the calories! Because I’ve tried to reduce my dairy intake as well, it left a pretty dismal outlook for hot chocolate season. Until. . .
I had a thought.
Maybe I could just make my own mix and use some almond milk. So, I set out to create my own concoction. The first one was. . .well. . .yuk. The second mix was a bit closer, but still needed some tweaking. Well, as they say, the third time’s a charm! I had what I considered to be pretty darn good hot cocoa mix.
Note: In looking for a sweetner, I was pretty picky. I wanted it to be a Stevia product, but Stevia has just a bit of an aftertaste. Then I discovered Pyure! I really love it, but be careful because it is super sweet. It’s so sweet that you only need half of it to achieve the right taste.
To give it just a little more of the yum factor, I used my little froth mixer and some almond milk creamer. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my little baby mixer. It’s an Aerolatte mixer and as a bonus. . .it’s red! It just doesn’t get any better. Ha ha! Here’s a picture of it. . .isn’t it cute??
And here is the almond milk creamer that I like. I get it at Walmart.
Fabulous Skinny Hot Cocoa
*This makes about 1/2 cup of the hot cocoa mix.
- 1/3 Cup Baking Cocoa Powder
- 5 Tbsp. Pyure (Pyure is a 2:1 sweetner. You can substitute with another Stevia sweetner, but if it’s a 1:1 substitute, use 1/3 Cup.)
- 1/8 tsp. sea salt (or whatever kind you want)
Directions to make mix:
Simply mix all ingredients together really, really well and store in an airtight container.
To Make the Fabulous Skinny Hot Cocoa:
Put 10 oz. of almond milk in a large mug. Make sure the mug has plenty of room at the top because when you use the little Aerolatte mixer, it will rise up as it gets frothy.
Add 2 Tbsp. of the cocoa mix** into the milk and mix with Aerolatter mixer until the milk and cocoa mix are combined really well and there are no clumps of the mix left in the milk. (**I’m going to give a disclaimer here. I’m a chocoholic so 2 Tbsp. may be overkill for you. Maybe start with one and work your way up from there. 😉)
Heat the cocoa in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. My microwave is fast and hot. Yours may take a little longer or a bit less. Just test it out.
After you heat the cocoa, add 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. of the creamer if you want and give it another round of frothing with the mixer.
And voila. . .enjoy! This hot chocolate is super yummy, and it will taste like you added tons of mini marshmallows to it!
So, for better or worse. . .there you have it! You’ll have to leave me a comment and let me know how you like it or what improvements you would make.
Cookies & Milk for Everyone!
