Winter hit my city pretty hard this past weekend. I absolutely love the snow and cold, because we don’t seem to get enough of a winter where I live. Snow days have always been few and far between. I am always amazed when I visit my husband’s family during this time of year, though, because the snow just stays all winter long. The snow literally melts the same day more often than not in my city.
So, I was feeling motivated by the weather to make homemade hot chocolate. The mixes you can buy at the store expire way too quickly for my liking, and it is surprisingly easy to make your own hot chocolate from scratch. You only need ingredients that you are likely to already have in your fridge and pantry.
While the ingredients needed are few and the process used is simple, I find that it can be very hard to make homemade hot chocolate taste good. There are a ton of recipes out there and most use cocoa. I have found that recipes using cocoa or semi-sweet chocolate are too bitter for me. I personally do not lean toward the intense and deep chocolate taste (other than in a candy bar, of course!).
For this particular recipe, I was inspired by the white hot chocolate at Starbucks. What I like most about that version of hot chocolate is that it is sweet and warm like it should be, but it isn’t super strong in the “too chocolatey” department (like the regular hot chocolate at Starbucks can be).
I chose to use chocolate chips – milk chocolate and white chocolate – instead of cocoa to achieve the desired flavor. I also added a little more sugar because I like my hot chocolate on the sweeter side, but you could easily leave that part out since the chocolate chips are sweet already. This recipe also lends itself to other modifications with which kinds of chocolate chips and extracts you use. If you try other combinations that are great, be sure to share them in the comments below!
I served the hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. You could certainly serve it with any toppings you like best on your hot chocolate too. This is a husband and toddler approved recipe, and I hope your family enjoys it too!
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- ⅛ cup sugar (optional)
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Warm the milk and sugar (if adding) in a medium saucepan on the stove on medium-low. Stir occasionally.
- Once the milk is steaming, whisk in the white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and vanilla extract.
- Stir constantly until all the chocolate has melted/blended into the milk.
- Turn off the heat and serve the hot chocolate warm.
Notes
- If the flavor of the hot chocolate is too sweet, omit the 1/8 cup sugar or add additional milk.
- This is a fun way to experiment with different flavors of chocolate chips and extracts to create different flavors of hot chocolate.