Recently, I raged a dear friend for drinking faux hot chocolate —the grainy stuff with lots of sugar and a pindrop hint of chocolate. I advised him to buy some unsweetend natural cocoa and make a huge batch for winter nights. He looked puzzled and I replied, "I'll send you my recipe".  

In honor of the Winter Solstice and Christmastime, here's my take on the perfect hot cocoa. This post is a part of #healthyholidays blog carnival. 

Feeds Two People 

2 cups of grass-fed half & half

2 heaping tablespoons of *For RLDye Hot Cocoa Mix

1 tablespoon of vanilla paste

*For RLDye Hot Cocoa Mix

2 cups of cocoa (unsweetend, natural)

1 cup of powered sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla bean salt (I'm in love with Jacobsen Salt Co.)

In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa, sugar and salt. Whisk well. Store in a airtight container.

In a small saucepan, warm the half and half and add the cocoa mix. Whisk well and  drop in the vanilla paste. The hot cocoa should not boil but simmer for around 5 minutes. No marshmallows or whipped cream needed. 

Do you make homemade hot chocolate or cocoa. Tell me!