Give your homemade hot cocoa recipe a twist with the flavors of gingerbread! This is one of my favorite homemade hot cocoa recipes!
I’ve been dreaming of gingerbread cocoa for a while now. It’s probably because of my addiction to molasses.
By the way, did you know that hot chocolate and hot cocoa are not the same thing? All these years, I’ve been using the phrases interchangeably, and it turns out there is a difference, albeit a subtle one.
Turns out, hot chocolate uses actual chocolate in the recipe, while cocoa gets it’s chocolatey flavor from cocoa powder. It’s sort of obvious when you think about it. I guess I just never thought about it before.
I was probably focused on the whipped cream.
(See related post: Peppermint Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa)
(Add this to your Drink Recipes board on Pinterest!)
I’m going to just admit to you now that I kind of cheated and made this in the microwave. I warmed up the milk and molasses, and then mixed them with the rest of the ingredients.
Why is that cheating, you might ask? Because they just don’t mix as well. If you take your time, and make this on the stove, stirring until all the sugar and cocoa are dissolved in, you won’t have so much un-dissolved chocolate in the bottom of your cup when you’re done.
And it will taste better.
That being said, sometimes the microwave is about all the “cooking” I can handle.
This recipe makes 2 servings, which is awesome for a quiet morning with someone you love, or a quiet evening at home alone, when you might feel like drinking two cups instead of just one.
Not that I did that. *ahem* However you enjoy it, just make sure you let it brighten your day a little, okay?
Want more? Try these winter drinks!
- 2 cups milk (2% or whole)
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- dash cinnamon
- dash ginger
- dash nutmeg
- whipped cream to garnish (optional)
- Combine milk with molasses and heat to desired drinking temperature. (I did this in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes, but it can also be done on a stove.)
- Mix with sugar, cocoa, and spices. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Garnish with whipped cream, serve warm.
