It’s that time of year again when even if you aren’t the entertaining-type, you might have to host a holiday gathering or bring a treat to an event. A hot beverage is a nice addition to any winter celebration and putting together this hot chocolate bar looks like you spent hours building it — even though it’s really as simple as assembling. No baking required.
Here's a straightforward hot chocolate recipe to please kids aged from 1 to 92 years.
Ingredients
Serves 15 to 20
½ cup of cocoa powder
½ cup hot water
20 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate- or a combination of the two
10 cups whole milk (2 percent will work, but whole milk is best]
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 to 12-ounce can of evaporated milk (Do not use a fat-free option)
½ cup sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
Whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl. Add the cocoa mixture, chopped chocolate, milk, heavy cream, evaporated milk, and salt to a six-quart slow cooker. Cook the hot chocolate on the high setting for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Stir the hot chocolate every hour to keep the chocolate from settling to the bottom. Omit the sugar if you plan to serve the hot chocolate with lots of sugary garnishes. Keep on the warm setting the hot chocolate bar is self-serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to one week and warmed on the low setting in the microwave before serving.
Stovetop directions
Whisk the water and cocoa powder together over medium heat until it begins to simmer, add in the remaining ingredients and whisk just until the chocolate melts. Make sure the hot chocolate doesn’t boil- it should cook to just barely reach the simmer point. It can be served immediately or transfer to a slow cooker set to the warm setting.
Serving instructions
I bought cheap canning jars in several sizes to hold all the goodies for my hot chocolate bar. The lids that come with the jars make for easy storage and transport. You can assemble everything in advance and simply place all of your cute jars on a large serving tray, take the lids off, pop the spoons in and you’re ready! I also have used coffee-to-go cups when I made the hot chocolate bar for a larger crowd and didn’t have enough coffee mugs on hand. Simple! The smaller canning jar sizes were useful for most things, however, I used bigger jars for bulkier and taller items like marshmallows and peppermint sticks. I used tiny plastic spoons for uniform serving pieces and they worked like a champ and look great. If you’re artsy, you can make cute labels for the hot chocolate accompaniments, but it’s not necessary, unless if you’ve got lots of extra time during the holidays [Ha!]. Here is a list of ideas to fill those cute little jars, but of course, the possibilities are endless!
Customize based on tastes
I like to serve this as a warm-up on these long winter days: make it your own with fun choices on a customized hot chocolate bar. Kids will love the crushed cookies, candy, and marshmallows to pile on top, and for an adult event, coffee or peppermint liqueur make it festive and fun.
- Mini marshmallows- plain or flavored
- All the chips: chocolate [milk, semi-sweet, white], peppermint, creme de menthe, peanut butter, butterscotch, caramel
- candy cane sticks
- Cinnamon sticks
- Crushed peppermints
- Truffles
- Pirouette cookies
- Crushed chocolate cream cookies or sugar cookies
- Toffee bits
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate or caramel sauce
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped nuts
- Cocoa powder
- Cinnamon
- Coarse sea salt
- For the adults: an assortment of liqueurs and flavored syrups
Readers can reach On The Minds of Moms staff via their Facebook page or email April Knutson, project manager and reporter at The Forum, at aknutson@forumcomm.com.
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December 26, 2019 at 01:00PM
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Festive hot chocolate bar for those impromptu gatherings | INFORUM - INFORUM
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