I thought this was a perfect recipe to post on a cold wintery day like today! I love when they say we are expecting an inch over night and you wake up to 6 inches of snow! I actually do like it since it means I get to spend the day in the kitchen!!!
As I have stated before, I loooove marshmallows. All of us girls in the family tend to go through a bag of them in no time. I saw a recipe for homemade marshmallows using honey and knew I had to try it. I have to give Jenni at The Urban Poser credit for the marshmallow recipe, but I'll take credit for the cocoa recipe!
The marshmallows need some time to dry out so plan to make them a day ahead of time. It is a pretty straight forward recipe, but I learned a few things while I was making them. First, use a large saucepan to boil the honey and water. You will never reach 240 degrees unless the mixture is boiling rapidly and a small saucepan will not allow for that! I learned the hard way and watched it boil over and then watched the temp standstill for what seemed like an hour because I couldn't turn it up without it boiling over. It should only take 7-8 minutes to get hot enough. Second, wet your hands slightly when trying handle and cut them. They are extremely sticky until you can get them cut and the sides can dry out. It works well to use kitchen scissors to cut them into desired shape and size.
Follow this recipe and video for the marshmallows. She also gives some yummy suggestions of what to coated them in for an additional treat. It makes quite a few large marshmallows.
I make my own nut milks and used that in this recipe. You can certainly used boxed non-dairy milks instead. Make sure to read my notes under variations if you use boxed milks. The cocoa recipe makes one cup so feel free to double it like I do so it fills my venti size mug!
Recipe: Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup homemade nut milk*
- 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk (optional, but makes it creamier)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp Lakanto or Wholesome Sweeteners Zero or Coconut Palm Sugar*
- 2 tsp cocoa or cacao powder
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a Vitamix or blender and blend until combined. This mixes it best and makes it a bit frothy.
- Pour mixture into a sauce pan and bring it to just about a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for a couple minutes, stir it while it simmers.
- Pour into a mug, top with marshmallows and enjoy!
Quick notes*I make my own almond and cashew milk to use in recipes. You can certainly use a boxed almond or coconut milk. If you use a vanilla flavored milk, you may want to omit the vanilla extract and reduce the sweetener.
*Remember that the marshmallows will add additional sweetness.
VariationsYou could add any extracts besides vanilla for a different flavor. I would suggest almond, peppermint, coconut, orange or hazelnut. You may need to add a smaller amount, especially with peppermint!
For a higher protein drink, add some vanilla egg white protein or vanilla whey if you can tolerate dairy. Blend it with all the other ingredients. Some brands may clump when you heat it, add the hot mixture back into the blender before serving.
Let me know how you choose to flavor it!!!
