Several months ago, I had purchased a container of European Dutch processed cocoa while searching for a high-quality cocoa to use in my baking experiments. I had intended to save the cocoa to use for baking cakes and cookies, but I completely forgot about the cocoa. It sat in my pantry for months. This morning, while I was preparing breakfast, I noticed the cocoa sitting in my pantry. I checked the container and realized the cocoa’s best by date is just a week away. I decided to make some cinnamon hot chocolate to use up some of the cocoa, but also because I had a craving for a warm, chocolatey drink. The cinnamon hot chocolate turned out wonderful. It was very chocolatey, slightly sweet, and was topped with the spice of ground cinnamon. It made for the perfect cold weather drink. Drinking hot chocolate when the weather is cold outside warms the entire body. It was so easy to make that I no longer need to buy hot cocoa powder mixes at the store.
Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
· 1½ cups whole milk
· ¼ cup European Dutch processed cocoa powder
· 1 tablespoon fine sugar
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
1) Heat a pot on medium-low heat. Add the whole milk. Once the milk starts to warm up, about 5-10 minutes later, add the cocoa and sugar. Stir until the cocoa and sugar dissolves. Add the ground cinnamon right before serving.
Takeaways: You can adjust the sweetness of the hot chocolate depending on your taste. I like my hot chocolate slightly sweet. I often find the store-bought hot cocoa powder mixes to be overly sweet. For me, adding one tablespoon of fine sugar is just the right amount of sweetness. You can also add additional spices to enhance the flavor of the hot chocolate.