Spiced Hot Chocolate

This Christmas I mixed up some spiced hot chocolate to give as part of our traditional goodie bags for teachers and friends. Apparently, the hot chocolate was a hit because I've had several requests for the recipe. But here's the thing, it was more of a "that looks good" mix than a "measure everything precisely" recipe. Here is my best attempt to give measurements, so your mileage may vary, and as always, you can mix it to your taste.

Spiced Hot Chocolate
6 servings of hot chocolate mix (either envelopes or scoops from a canister)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 TBS ground Saigon cinnamon


Mix hot chocolate mix, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.
To serve, add 1 oz of mix to 6-8 oz hot water. This recipe makes 7 servings.

For a single serving: 1 serving hot chocolate mix, 2 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp cinnamon. This will be a bit more sweet than the above mix because you'll be using a full ounce of the prepared mix instead of 1 ounce of the mix/cocoa/cinnamon.


Now, a note about cocoa powder. There are 2 types of cocoa powder, natural and Dutch processed or alkalized. In short, cocoa powder is naturally acidic, so it will have a leavening effect on baked goods, and it is quite bitter. Dutched cocoa powder has been treated with an alkali to neutralize the acid and is less bitter. You can read more at Joy of Baking. I've been using Saco Premium Cocoa Powder (unfortunately I have to order it online because it isn't available locally. Yes, it's much more expensive this way.), which is a blend of natural and Dutched cocoa powder, after reading about it online last year. I like this cocoa powder because I can typically use a bit less sugar than with natural cocoa powder alone since it isn't as bitter and still get a really deep, rich chocolate flavor.