Hot Chocolate for a Crowd (or at least a large family!)

It is cold.

Try -20 degrees last night – breaking the record set in 1914 – and that was just air temperature!

Factor in the wind chill and it’s much worse.

I decided the children needed something warm for breakfast this morning to get them ready for the day. So we enjoyed a family favorite, Breakfast Hot Chocolate.

I discovered this recipe a few years ago in my vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and have adapted it many times to adjust to what I had on hand.

I have used fresh goat’s milk, raw cow’s milk, good old 2 % milk, skim milk and even dry milk. I think this recipe has a richer chocolate flavor than the powdered kind and my children love it! Here’s the recipe:

Breakfast Hot Chocolate:

Traditional recipe:
Mix together with a wire whisk: 1 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar, dash salt. Add one cup boiling water, stirring. Then add 7 cups of milk and heat to the boiling point, but don’t boil. Stir well before serving.

Or my shortcut version:
Mix together with a wire whisk: 1 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar, dash salt and 2 2/3 cup dry milk. Stir in 8 cups of boiling water and stir well. Serve immediately.

Either version is great garnished with whipped cream or marshmallows. I personally love a scoop of ice cream in mine with an Andees mint or two melted inside. Around Christmas we love to use candy canes to stir the hot chocolate and have even drowned an unsuspecting marshmallow Peep on a cold Easter week-end.

However and whenever you serve it, hot chocolate is a warm and inviting family tradition!