This basic cocoa mix can be spiced up with all kinds of optional add-ins or enjoyed plain as-is. It is not an overly sweet mix, so feel free to add more sweetness to your/your family's liking. These customized hot cocoa mixes also make nice gifts - just add ribbon, a label and instructions and you've got a delicious zero waste treat!
Recipe type: Beverages
Serves: 16 servings
Ingredients
½ cup cocoa (for me, the darker and richer, the better!)
¼ cup unrefined coconut sugar, or organic cane sugar (or skip the dry sweetener and add some maple or honey to sweeten when preparing your drink)
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp maca root powder (optional)
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ tsp fine black or white pepper (optional)
Instructions
Measure out all ingredients into a jar (for the proportions above, use a 250 mL jar; or double the above quantities and use a 500 mL jar). That's it - your custom hot cocoa mix is ready to go!
To prepare hot cocoa, mix 1 Tbsp of cocoa mixture with ¾ cup - 1 cup liquid. I tend to mix ¼-1/2 cup hot water; then add (approximately ¼ cup) milk or alternative (I like almond milk) to cool. Note: I don't actually like my hot cocoa HOT, so I add the milk to 'cool' it somewhat; however, if you like it HOT, simply heat your milk :) *If you skipped the dry sweetener above, you can add in some maple syrup or honey here to sweeten.
Recipe by The L'Oven Life at https://thelovenlife.com/diy-hot-chocolate-mix/