Cocoa season

Given my foodie tendencies you might suspect my hot chocolate is of the gourmet persuasion. While I won’t claim this is never the case, more often than not my hot chocolate is of the blue can persuasion. And it’s usually the “no sugar added” variety to boot.

While I know there are many folks who don’t do artificial sweeteners, I am not one of them. I am the child (and grandchild, both sides!) of a dentist; I grew up on this stuff and have lived to tell the tale. I was disappointed when Swiss Miss started to use Splenda instead of NutraSweet, but I still prefer the taste of the no sugar added cocoa mix to the regular kind. Also, one serving is only about 50 calories and has 30% of the US RDA of calcium.

The super-processed big agriculture nature of instant hot chocolate mix does nag at me a little. I’m thinking I’d like to try making my own from organic powdered milk though I’ll likely still use a sugar substitute. Hey, I’m a Gemini, I’m allowed to contradict myself regularly.

Whether you go with a mix or do the real milk thing, hot chocolate is fun to fancy up. Beyond the traditional marshmallows (see, I’m not anti-sugar) it’s likely you have a few things in your pantry that taste really good in your cocoa. One of the easiest add-ins is cinnamon, a cheater-version of Mexican hot chocolate. A little ground cinnamon goes a long ways, and it works best if you add it to the cocoa before pouring the liquid in. A small zest of orange rind in the bottom of the cup is a nice treat, and if you happen to have peppermint extract, adding a tiny drop plus some vanilla will make candy cane hot cocoa.

Now I’m going to check on the snow piling up outside…I think I’m finally ready for winter!