The Best Hot Chocolate - Pinkie Swear!

   A friend emailed this morning asking for this recipe - I gave it to her a few years ago before she moved to Georgia - miss you Shauna - and she had misplaced it...anywho....I told her I would post it - and it's a keeper...trust me - you will love this stuff!  It's thick - not quite as thick as a pudding that you cook over the stove - but almost - and if you use the good cocoa, the Dutch processed kind, it will be much richer than the stuff I grew up on - Hershey's - not that there's anything wrong with that - but for this recipe and pretty much for anything else in life, richer is definitely better!  Feel free to quote me on that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trick to making this hot cocoa is to slowly stream the milk into the pan....I tried to get a shot of me doing that but more milk was going on me and the stove than in the pan - so I gave up - but don't get excited and try to rush this - it's worth the wait.

You can see how thick this is - but it's still drinkable...see how it coated the spoon and notice that little droplet just ready to fall?  Aahhh, and it smells so nice. 

In the Northwest, everyone drinks coffee, or tea or hot cocoa, especially this time of year.  There really is a Starbucks on every corner - or there will be - I'm sure they have plans to take over the world!  My mother once asked, as we were walking around Pike Place Market, if everyone in Seattle was in the logging business?  Due to the amount of people she saw wearing jeans and flannel shirts and fleece jackets - did I mention it was June?  Oh, she also thinks that the downfall of civilization, as we know it, will be thanks to Bill Gates who allowed his Microsofties to wear shorts and sandals to work - and now everyone is doing it!  Degenerates!  In her day everyone wore white shirts and ties to work and would never, ever think of wearing sandals - not even to the beach!  Northwesterners love to be comfortable, love to "dress down" and love to warm their hands with a mug of something hot - we've got to try to stay warm any way we can! 

The Best Hot Cocoa - Adapted from The Pacific Magazine, Seattle Times, 1998

1/4 cup dark (European Style) cocoa powder

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups whole milk

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

Put cocoa powder, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to mix.  Add the water and whisk until smooth.  Put the pot on a burner over high heat and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil.  Gradually stream in the milk, whisking all the while.  While adding the milk, keep the mixture hot and steamy, just below the boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and stir gently for 3 to 5 minutes, or just until the mixture is thickened and beginning to boil.  Remove the cocoa from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  Ladle into cups and serve right away, or pour into a vacuum jar to keep it hot. Serves 4.