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This recipe for Homemade Hot Chocolate is so quick and easy to make. No more mixes! This recipe uses your milk of choice, chopped chocolate, spices and it’s topped with a delicious my Coffee Marshmallows or Mint Chocolate Chip Marshmallows.
When the weather hits even a little brisk, I love to transition from my Iced Pumpkin Spice Lattes to warm Matcha Lattes to a Gingerbread Latte. Hello, I love a flavored drink!
I don’t think anyone would argue that hot chocolate is the coziest of cozy drinks. And since this is lil’ blog is called A Cozy Kitchen I think I’ve gone way too long without sharing a proper recipe for it. So, let’s talk about this perfect Homemade Hot Chocolate.
Hot Cocoa vs. Hot Chocolate!
Let’s talk about the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate.
- Hot cocoa is cocoa powder dissolved into milk or (God forbid) water. I have good memories of hot cocoa, actually.
But during the holidays, it was always hot chocolate. My mom would tell us stories about how in Peru, on Christmas Eve, right before midnight mass, a big pot of hot chocolate was made. They’d take big blocks of chocolate, melt it and then mix it into warm milk until it dissolved.
- Thick hot chocolate is just melted chocolate into milk. It’s what they also call drinking chocolate.
But sometimes it’s too rich for me; hence why I like this iteration: half melted chocolate and half cocoa powder. It makes the best combination of the best texture and viscosity, sweetness and spice.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Homemade Hot Chocolate
- Milk – If you’re a dairy-free queen, feel free to use oat milk or almond. I love a nice low-fat dairy milk so it’s not too, too thick.
- Sugar – I don’t use too much sugar; just the right amount.
- Cinnamon stick – You can use some spices, if you like. I like simmering it with a cinnamon stick and a pinch salt. This adds a nice depth that isn’t detectable.
- Vanilla caviar – I love using a scrape of vanilla. I usually use an already used up vanilla bean from my Homemade Vanilla Extract. You don’t need a ton just 1/4 of the beans from a pod. Feel free to use a splash of vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla bean.
- Chocolate – I love a good rich bar of chocolate. I’m using semi-sweet but feel free to use bittersweet or dark chocolate. I would steer clear of milk chocolate because I fear it might be too sweet and if you do, you can leave out the sugar and add it to taste.
- Cocoa Powder – Baking cocoa powder will make this hot chocolate not too thick.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card below!
How to Make Homemade Hot Chocolate!
- Using a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into small pieces.
- Add the cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, sugar, vanilla bean caviar (or extract) cinnamon stick and pinch of salt to a medium saucepan.
- Warm it over medium-low heat until the chocolate has melted. Serve it immediately.
Tips and Tricks
- Milk Chocolate – If you want to use milk chocolate (say that’s all you have), feel free to eliminate the sugar in the recipe.
- Stir regularly – Stir it regularly to avoid a skin from forming on the top.
- Dairy-free – If you’re looking for a healthier hot chocolate/less indulgent, check out my Oat Milk Hot Chocolate. It’s made with cacao powder, maple syrup and collagen powder.
What To Serve with This Cup of Homemade Hot Chocolate
If you tried this Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk, or milk of choice (oat, almond, soy)
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 1/2 whole vanilla bean, scraped (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- To a medium saucepan, placed over low heat, pour in all of the ingredients. Heat until a very gentle simmer and whisk until the chocolate has melted and is cohesive. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean and discard.
- Divide amongst mugs and garnish with whipped cream, marshmallows or chocolate shavings.
Notes
- Milk Chocolate – If you want to use milk chocolate (say that’s all you have), feel free to eliminate the sugar in the recipe.
- Stir regularly – Stir it regularly to avoid a skin from forming on the top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yumm – that is truly fancy!
Mary x
I never knew the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate, but I’m about to go pick up some chocolate so this can happen tonight. This looks amazing!
I love your blog, and I love chocolate, and I love fancy ass stuff that I can actually make at home 🙂 Of course, it is supposed to be 77 here tomorrow….Mother Nature is so confused.
Pure Decadence! Oh my and love those copper mugs!
I’ve always wanted to make fancy ass hot chocolate. Love those mugs!
My friend is Colombian and he puts cubes of queso fresco in his homemade hot chocolate. It is an amazing marriage of savory and sweet. The cheese doesn’t melt it just kind of soaks of up the chocolate. This is a Colombian breakfast staple, served with fresh crusty bread for dunking.
My dad is Colombian and I’ve never heard of this. It sounds crazy amazing. I need to bother him and ask him if he knows of this AND then try it. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely an yummy! I hear you…I’m from Spain and for us hot chocolate MUST be super thick and rich, we cannot have it any other way… Lol so thick it can almost holdthe spoon sticking up 😉 and if you have fresh home made churros around… Heaven on a plate! Thanks for sharing!
this looks divine!! i am going to make this (possibly spiked with caramel vodka??!!) for christmas with my family!!
this is the ONLY way to make it. the fancy-ass way.
A couple of things. 1) Obsessed with those coffee marshmallows 2) You own the world’s best mugs! 3) Chocolate > cocoa 4) Love your fancy-ass series.
That’s all.