The Best Hot Chocolate Recipe

The Best Hot Chocolate Recipe is here! Tis the season, am I right? Nothing says, “Let’s kick off the holidays,” like a flavorful cup of healthy hot chocolate. That’s right—hot chocolate can be made into a health food with this recipe. I will show you how!

The Best Hot Chocolate Ingredients

The best hot chocolate involves very few but powerful ingredients. Forget Swiss Miss this year, and ditch the corn syrup… time to make your own. The list is simple:

• Raw Milk
• Maple Syrup
• Cacao Powder
• Vanilla
• Real Salt
• Cinnamon
• Homemade Marshmallows

Raw Milk

Raw Milk has beneficial and digestible vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and nutrients that a body needs. This main health ingredient will be better for you than any other hot chocolate on the market. Much like human breastmilk, raw milk is alive and enough to support a growing animal. Milk has a perfect ratio of protein, fats, and carbs.

If you can tolerate raw milk, warm it but not to a boil so it is not pasteurized killing off beneficial and living organisms. Here is a guideline for pasteurizing raw milk, make sure not to go past these temps and time frames for the full benefits of raw milk.

High-temperature pasteurization	145°F (63°C) or higher	At least 30 minutes
High temperature pasteurization	161°F (72°C) or higher	At least 15 seconds

Maple Syrup

The Best Hot Chocolate is made with Maple Syrup in my opinion. Not only does it taste better but maple syrup has a small amount of vitamins and minerals like manganese and zinc whereas white sugar has no nutritional value due to it being refined.

Not to say that white sugar is bad, it just is void of any nutrients if refined. This is a great article that explains the difference between sugars by Jennifer Gaeng.

Cacao Powder

Cacao powder, not to be confused with cocoa powder is the chocolaty ingredient that gives this drink fullness and packs a punch with its nutritional profile.

They are both derived from the same plant, the cacao plant. This is where we get chocolate from too. The process to get these baking powders slightly varies, but it makes all the difference.

“Because it’s been processed at such low temperatures, cacao powder retains all of its enzymes, vitamins, and nutrients and is considered “raw.” The temperature at which it’s heated is the primary difference between cacao vs. cocoa powder.” ¹

The taste also varies, making cacao a little more bitter, while cocoa powder is usually mixed with milk solids or sugar. For the healthier option, opt for cacao powder in place of cocoa.

Vanilla

High-quality vanilla makes all the difference in this hot chocolate blend. I like to use Casa Bella Vida for my recipes. It is divine and adds a wonderful, flavorful, and aromatic experience.

Real Salt

Don’t forget to add more vitamins and minerals to this drink with a festive dash of salt! Real salt is the best way to mineralize your body and replenish it with electrolytes. Plus, it adds a wonderful taste to balance the sweetness of this holiday hot chocolate.

Cinnamon

A dash of organic cinnamon for the zest of the season. It adds a warming spicey component, especially on top of the marshmallows.

Homemade Marshmallows

A cozy cup of warming hot chocolate deserves homemade (healthy) marshmallows. Follow my recipe and find out how this completes The Best Hot Chocolate!

Additional Ingredients

If you are like me and love peppermint chocolate, then add a drop or two of peppermint essential oil to the pot of The Best Hot Chocolate and stir. You can thank me later!

Think Peppermint is a bit too strong? Add some organic crushed candy canes from Yum Earth.

For a spicy and hot “Hot Chocolate”, add cayenne pepper for that extra blood flow.

Get creative, and write in the comments what you and your family like to add to the pot of The Best Hot Chocolate.

1. Michelle Pellizzon “What’s the Difference Between Cacao vs Cocoa?” –thrivemarket.com ↩︎