My Favorite Cup of Hot Chocolate -

Dairy free or not, this delicious and super quick cup of hot chocolate hits the spot on a cold night.

Hot But Still Tasty

The last three days here in Arizona have been 80 degrees and it is almost Christmas. It has been an unusually warm winter. However, that hasn’t stopped us from enjoying some hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate is such a simple, easy treat but somehow in our convenience world we have turned hot chocolate into a powdered package of preservatives. Hot chocolate is really as simple as milk, chocolate and a sweetener.

Types of Milk

In this recipe, the type of milk you use is completely flexible. We typically make our hot chocolate dairy free but this same recipe works well with cow’s milk as well.

I have been making dairy free hot chocolate for many years and the combination of dairy free milks that I share in the recipe below is my very favorite.

I love to use homemade almond milk but any almond milk will do. (My favorite almond milk recipe is 1 1/2 cups soaked raw almonds blended with 4 cups of water. Blend about 1 minute in a high powered blender. Run it through a nut bag. Add another 2 1/2 cups of water to the strained milk, 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir well.)

Change the Flavor

Cinnamon added to this cup of hot chocolate really just amps up the deliciousness for me but if cinnamon is not your jam, then leave it out. You could definitely add some different add-ins as well if you want to make it a bit more fancy.

My kids love it with peppermint added – typically in the form of a candy cane or candy cane bits. You could also stir in some white chips, butterscotch chips or chocolate chips. Vanilla could also be a tasty addition. Make it your own. Hope you love it!