Homemade Hot Chocolate for a Hard Winter’s Night. (Also known as High Performance Cocoa).

Tonight was the first significant snowfall of the season. I was going to test out my new Bushcrafting tarp by pitching it tent style. Unfortunately we had about 2 inches of snow and it immediately turned to rain. Cold driving rain that just soaked everything, including me, to chill to the bone. My gear is drenched and frozen. Once the ice started falling out of the clouds I decided I’d had enough.

Common sense being the better part of valor — I decided that I’m going to wait this mess out and try again on another snow day. Got to dry out my junk and pack it away for another attempt with better planning. Cold I can deal with. Cold and wet is just miserable. I’m intrepid…. Even adventurous…. But I’m not an idiot. Time to call this off and rethink my position.

I’m cold, and can’t seem to warm up fast enough for my liking. Those 61 year old bones ain’t as tough as they used to be. So I decided to warm up from the inside out. And that means — hot chocolate. None of the crap with chemicals and preservatives on the label that I can’t pronounce. I want the real stuff.

This all starts off with quality milk. Not the store bought homogenized stuff with things added to it after they heat it out with pasturization. I’m talking real, raw milk just squeezed from Ol’ Bessie and bottled up after cooling it down and filtering the stuff. I’m glad Maine has some pretty decent food laws because raw milk here is readily available if you know where to shop.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/8 cup granulated sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

  1/3 cup hot water

• 4 cups milk (whole or half and half for creamier results)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

High performance hot chocolate for those cold winter nights in a howling Maine Nor’easter.

Combine dry ingredients: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.

Add the vanilla extract.

Make a syrup: Stir in the hot water until the mixture is smooth and combined. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and continue to boil for about 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar and blend the flavors.

Add milk and heat: Stir in the milk and heat the mixture until it is very hot, but do not let it boil. You don’t want a scalded mess in your pot.

Now if you’re not of age or you’re a teetotaler you can skip this next part. You can choose “leaded” or “unleaded” to put in your mug. When I was a youngster in the Marine Corps, we used to make this stuff in our canteen cups out in the field when it was cold at Camp Lejeune. I’d always make sure to hit the base PX and scarf up a bottle of apple schnapps to put in my hot chocolate. It’s really good stuff. You don’t want to overpower the drink, just give it a bit of kick. About one shot per canteen cup will do just fine. Now a bit of peppermint schnapps makes it taste like you’re drinking a candy cane. I didn’t have schnapps in the cabinet tonight but I do have some of the Green Fairy. A touch of absinthe makes the hot chocolate have a bit of a licorice flavor. Kind of an odd combo but licorice and chocolate ain’t too bad. High performance hot chocolate for those cold winter nights in a howling Maine Nor’easter. Snow is not bad, bit a snow and rain slushy mix just sucks all the way around for everyone. You can’t have fun in slushy rain.