Hot Cocoa

I made hot cocoa last night and tried something new that worked well.I wanted to make a lot. So, for 2.5 gallons of hot cocoa I did the following:

Heat in a pan to boiling:

2 C water
2C dry cocoa powder
2C sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Once this boils you can put it into 2 clean pint jars. When ready to make the cocoa, put the contents of one of the jars in a pan and heat, then add 1 gallon of milk and heat until it reaches 180 degrees-the perfect drinking temp for cocoa.  You can make both jars of syrup into cocoa at the same time, or save a jar for later. Just put it in the fridge and it will keep for a long time. I put a bowl of mini-marshmallows along side of the thermal container the cocoa was in. [We use Cambro  beverage Camtainers and they are pricey, but fabulous and well worth the money if you have lots of get togethers. If you do put it in a thermal container like this, I suggest heating the cocoa to 183-185 degrees so it will stay hot for hours.]

We like it less sweet, but if you are serving to company or children you may want to add some extra sugar or a squirt or two of chocolate syrup.

I made 2.5 gallons last night and there wasn't a drop left at the end of the evening.

Take care,
Jill