Homemade Hot Cocoa

I love cookbooks.  

I have a lot of cookbooks, and recipe magazines, and recipes clipped from magazines.  And we won't even talk about the hundreds of recipes I've pinned on Pinterest.  If I made a new recipe every day for the rest of my life, I would never get through them all.  It's interesting how cookbooks have changed over the years.  The newest ones suck me in with their amazing photography, and the storytelling that accompanies the recipes.  I could sit and read one just for the enjoyment of it.  Older cookbooks were usually just another kitchen tool.  No stories, no photos, just recipes.  It was one of those older cookbooks that I turned to when I needed a good recipe for homemade hot cocoa after my kids spent over an hour outside shovelling snow.

We keep the instant hot cocoa packets in the cupboard, for the kids to make for themselves, but this time I wanted to make a large amount - and I always prefer real ingredients over processed convenience items.

Milk, cream, cocoa, salt, and vanilla.  That's it.

It was a little bit more work than putting on the kettle to boil, but oh so worth it.  This is a very rich and chocolately hot cocoa recipe.

Homemade Hot Cocoa

1 cup cocoa ( I used half regular cocoa and half dark cocoa)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups milk

2 cups half and half cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together cocoa, sugar, and salt over a large pot.  Add water and whisk until smooth, bringing to a boil over medium high heat.  Simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened, whisking constantly.  Slowly stir in milk and cream and continue heating until scalded.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and serve.

Serves 6-8 depending on how big your mugs are!

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