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Simple Hot Cocoa for One

4.4

(267)

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A single mug of Gourmet's Hot Cocoa For One.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Styling by Joseph De Leo

As with hot chocolate, use any milky liquid you prefer, whether it's from a cow, nuts (almond milk), beans (soy milk), or grains (rice milk). For sweeteners, feel free to substitute maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar for sugar, but start with less, about 1 tablespoon, and taste the combination before adding more.

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What you’ll need

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk or any combination of milk, half-and-half, or cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, salt, and about 2 tablespoons milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until cocoa and sugar are dissolved. Whisk in the rest of the milk and heat it over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until it is hot. Stir in the vanilla and serve.

    Step 2

    If you like it frothy, blend it in the blender.

    Step 3

    This recipe multiplies easily. When you get up to a quart of milk, use ¼ teaspoon salt.

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Reviews (267)

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  • quick and easy, less than 2 minutes in the microwave.... so glad I had marshmallows!

    • elbrant

    • Wilmington, NC, USA

    • 2/7/2024

  • Made with guirardelli cocoa powder, whole milk, and topped with homemade whipped cream (cools it down and makes it creamy and most other recipes call for it in their recipes) then drizzled with Ghirardelli caramel sauce. Absolutely wintery flavor explosion of deliciousness. Very concise and beginner-friendly. Awesome job. You rock!

    • The Pixie of Dixie

    • Rutherfordton, N C

    • 1/16/2024

  • It was a chilly night in Oklahoma and I googled recipes for hot chocolate but could only come up with huge recipes so I found this recipe searching for "per cup". Besides my modification of adding 4 jumbo marshmallows to the empty cup, before adding the final product........perfectly balanced hot chocolate to enjoy a documentary on Keith Richards. Your recipe and Keith Richards included in the same review, PRICELESS. Both were OUTSTANDING. xoxo C

    • C

    • ardmore, ok

    • 10/16/2023

  • It's so hilarious many of the negative reviews either didn't realize this recipe is designed for you to make it to your personal taste or didn't follow the instructions and then didn't like the results. Another it's very clear the author has a serious health issue with one of the ingredients which would result of they consumed ingredient no matter what they made using it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this combination of ingredients it's a typical, normal, everyday hot cocoa recipe using typical, normal, everyday ingredients.

    • Anonymous

    • San Diego

    • 8/15/2023

  • I added a pinch of cinnamon and coffee just to heighten/intensify the flavor, tastes amazing!!!!

    • Anonymous

    • 7/18/2023

  • I love this. Simple and wonderful. I use just over 1 tablespoon of sugar. Don't leave out the tiny bit of vanilla. Will make many times. Thanks!

    • Anonymous

    • Vienna, VA

    • 11/6/2022

  • i made this at home and i loved it

    • Anonymous

    • abingdon va

    • 10/28/2022

  • I added a couple squares of 70% chocolate and halfway through drinking, I decided to blend it again with a banana. Very nice but I'd add less dark chocolate and two bananas at the start if I did it again

    • Anonymous

    • Skibbereen, Cork

    • 6/11/2022

  • Love this recipe. Sharing on my page.

    • ItzMa

    • Oshawa, Ontario

    • 3/24/2022

  • Jane Farticia, thanks for the tip! 😉

    • Stephanie Matto

    • Bean Town, USA

    • 2/28/2022

  • it tastes exactly like the hot chocolate we had when we went to the Polar Express soooooo good!!!!!

    • sav

    • boston,ma

    • 2/13/2022

  • I made this for my daughter. It seemed to only need one tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 Tablespoon of cocoa, but she prefers milk chocolate. For me, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cocoa is good.

    • Kara

    • Bethesda, MD

    • 2/3/2022

  • First time making hot cocoa using cocoa powder. This is DELICIOUS! Thanks for the recipe.

    • Jean Evansmore

    • West Virginia

    • 1/29/2022

  • Definitely recommend 👌it's delicious. I've tried all the 5 stars recipes they ate very complicated and not delicious but yours is amazing keep the great work. Robin

    • Anonymous

    • Lebanon

    • 1/24/2022

  • Simple, quick, and satisfying. I like it best using only 1 Tablespoon of sugar, whole milk, and a swirl of whipped cream on top.

    • Teresa

    • Flint, Michigan

    • 1/17/2022

TagsHot DrinkBeveragesCocoaNonalcoholic5 Ingredients or FewerWinterGourmet

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