Melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs one at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gently stir in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt and baking powder. Shake off a cold-weather chill with these warm-and-toasty cocktails. From classic Irish coffee and mulled wine to cocoa with a kick, these hot toddies are good for.

Candy cane cocoa, Mexican hot chocolate, white chocolate, and old-fashioned hot chocolate. Winter’s worth it if it means warming up with hot chocolate. The hardest part of making these decadent mugs is choosing a flavor. Dark-Chocolate Hot Cocoa infuses a bittersweet base with a whisper of nutmeg, while White.

Best Cocoa Brownies. The family I married into is pretty great. My sister- in- law is one of my most trusted friends. My father- in- law loves a long chat with his son and always tells him funny news stories that get back to me.

Cream butter and sugar; add. away. Frost while brownies are still warm but not hot. Mix granulated sugar and cocoa; add milk and vanilla. become smooth and set.

And, my mother- in- law, Linda, is one of the warmest women I know… She’s the type who won’t sit down until she’s made sure you’re comfortable in your own chair, and you have a cup of tea to drink and a newspaper to read while you’re sitting. She also loves to travel and brings back great little gifts for anyone who didn’t tag along on her trip. So, before Linda and my sister- in- law went to France recently, she asked if my husband and I would like anything. Hmmm… anything? Seeing as a four- course dinner couldn’t easily be mailed through the French postal system, I was stumped.“No, thanks. Nothing for me,” I told her. And then, she came back with this: This is deep, dark, pure unsweetened Valrhona cocoa powder, and it makes a chocolate brownie so light, so fluffy and perfectly moist that after one bite, you’d think you had died and gone to heaven.

My first instinct was not that I needed to do something impressive like ganache or truffles with this lovely chocolate… My first instinct was to make a brownie, and simple as it may sound, it was a great way to really taste the cocoa’s deep, intense flavor through a really simple recipe. Some day soon, I’ll dream up other delicious ways to use the cocoa powder (ideas are welcome!), but if I don’t come up with anything before fall and winter, I’m sure this stuff will make an incredible hot cocoa drink! Linda, I’ve already told you, but I’ll tell you again: THANK YOU! It was so nice of you to think of me during your fun France trip, and this cocoa powder was the greatest gift I never knew I needed. Craving more? Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for new post updates and more. You can also check out my FAQ page, or contact me with any questions or inquiries!

Print Recipe. Yield: 1. Ingredients: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Directions: Preheat oven to 3. Grease and flour a 9- inch square pan. Melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs one at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gently stir in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 2.

Cool for 1. 5 minutes before cutting. Adapted from All Recipes.

Hot Chocolate Recipe Simply. Recipes. com. Come in from the cold and take the chill off with a warm cup of hot chocolate! Please welcome guest author Garrett Mc. Cord as he takes us through a hot chocolate tutorial.

Elise. Hot chocolate is one of those things that spoil you forever. Once you make it at home you just can’t go back to those ready- go packets of hot cocoa anymore. It’s like comparing homemade truffles to a Hershey’s bar from last year’s Halloween. It’s just not even a contest.

Real homemade hot chocolate is thick, rich, and the real essence of what chocolate in a glass on a cold day should be. How is hot chocolate different from hot cocoa?

Hot chocolate is basically like drinking a melted candy bar; the chopped chocolate contains cocoa butter which makes it richer and smoother. Cocoa is powdered and contains no cocoa butter and thus very little fat. How Long Is Cooked Quinoa Good For. It also contains dried milk, sugar, and added flavors. This is the real stuff, and once you try it you may never want drink hot cocoa again! The recipe here serves four, it may not look like a lot but believe me it’s very rich and one cup is more than enough for a single person. Chocolate to Use. If you plan to make good hot chocolate, it helps to start with quality chocolate.

Scharffen Berger, Guittard, and Valrhona are great choices if you can find them where you are. I suggest using bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.

Bittersweet has little sugar added to it so you’ll get a more pure chocolate taste. Semisweet works too, and usually has more sugar added to it than bittersweet. What about those cacao percentages? The higher the cacao percentage (noted on the chocolate package) the more chocolate solids are in the product, and therefore the higher intensity of chocolate flavor. Semisweet is usually 3. Milk chocolate already has milk solids added to it and has a very low (about 2.

Milk, Soy, or Water? Whole milk lends to the creaminess and sweetness of hot chocolate, but feel free to use lowfat or nonfat milk if you prefer. For a thicker, richer hot chocolate, switch out 1/4 cup of milk for cream. Soy milk is an alternative if you are lactose intolerant. Use unflavored or vanilla soy milk.

Believe it or not, you can use water instead of milk (though most people use milk). Water allows the chocolate to show off its true flavors and unique characteristics, however you lose the creamy feel and taste when you don’t use milk. Spices & Herbs.

Experiment with spices and herbs to create unique flavors with your hot chocolate. Centuries ago the Aztecs made hot chocolate with vanilla and chili peppers. Today Mexicans enjoy hot chocolate with cinnamon. Many flavors can be added to chocolate, such as the classic flavors of peppermint and orange. You might also try lavender, bay leaf, or star anise. Brew spices into the milk (or soy milk or water) during the initial heating process.

After the milk is steamy, strain out the spices and herbs and return the hot, flavored milk back to the pan and add the chocolate as you normally would. Liquors. A small addition of liquor is a fun way to warm the body on a cold night. About 1 to 1 1/2 ounces of liquor is the right amount per cup of liquid being used.

Most any favorite liquor will work. Dark chocolate with a dark Guinness is a perfect combo. Cinnamon or peppermint schnapps with hot chocolate are classic companions. Kahlua and chocolate makes for a sort of mocha- esque treat that you won’t find at your local coffee shop. A popular way to drink hot chocolate in Canada, according to some of my northern relatives, is to add a bit of whisky and (real) maple syrup.

Whipped Cream. Regardless how you make it, I think whipped cream makes hot chocolate (or anything really) better. Feel free to use an extract such as vanilla or anise to flavor the whipped cream. Once dolloped onto your drink a small sprinkling of nuts, cocoa powder, or ground spices is a great way to add flavor and pump up the presentation.

My best advice to creating your perfectly flavored hot chocolate is to make it as you like it. Feel free to experiment as I doubt friends and family will mind being subjected to cup after cup of chocolate.