Italian Hot Cocoa

Jake was outside shoveling snow in -17 degree wind chill this afternoon. This level of domestic commitment, I decided, deserved a tasty, belly-warming reward.

Since I didn't have any instant hot chocolate, I pulled out The Joy of Cooking for a hot chocolate recipe. We decided to be adventurous and try the Italian Hot Cocoa, described as having "an almost puddinglike or chocolate sauce consistency." That thick happy goodness, I learned, is achieved by including a teaspoon of cornstarch with the unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar. Though skeptical (cornstarch isn't what I would call "yummy"), I soldiered forth and about 10 minutes later was rewarded for my faith in Joy. And now you can too!

Stir together in a medium, heavy saucepan:
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
Stir in thoroughly and set over low heat:
1/2 c. water
Stir in:
1/2 c. water
1 c. milk (I used whole.)
Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thickened and coats a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in:
1/8 tsp. vanilla

The recipe recommends substituting the vanilla with 1/2 teaspoon of Kahlua or Grand Marnier as well as topping with nutmeg or cinnamon (we used cinnamon and though it smelled nice, decided it didn't really add much) and whipped cream or marshmallows (either of which we totally would have used had we had them). We like to doctor our instant hot chocolate with a couple drops of peppermint extract, and I'm sure that would work very yummily with this recipe as well.

And there you have it. Perfect for a cold winter's day. You can see just how thick the cocoa was in this picture after drinking its yummy contents.