Homemade Hot Cocoa

SP did a lot of shoveling over the holiday season and over the past few weeks. He dug out at his house, then went to his aunt and uncle's house and shoveled there, then dug out his sister's house, then stopped to dig out my parent's house, then finished mine up when he got here. It was cold, too!

While he was outside clearing my walk, I got into the habit of making us some hot cocoa from scratch. It's really easy, and I always have extra milk to use up. This is a tasty way to use that half gallon of milk that's about to expire.

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1/2 c. granulated sugar and 1/3 c. baking cocoa powder over low heat, slowly adding 1/3 c. of milk until it forms a warm, smooth paste, then stir in 3 2/3 c. more milk and warm to nearly boiling while constantly stirring or whisking. Remove it from the heat and add 1 t. vanilla extract (add 1/2 t. mint extract if you like that kind of thing), and ladle into Irish coffee mugs. Top with a generous dollop of real whipped cream and share with someone you love.

This is the best pose of 5 shots I took of SP enjoying his hot beverage. I told him he'd wind up on the internet with his tongue hanging out. He raves over this hot cocoa. Give it a try.