Ohhhhhhh man, you guys, I have been so excited to post this. I recipe tested this dairy free hot cocoa SO many different ways before landing on the perfect version. I tried it with cashew cream, cashew cream/almond milk mix, just almond milk, almond milk and coconut milk, just coconut milk, coconut milk/oat milk mix – SO MANY DIFFERENT COMBOS.
And then I tried it with just oat milk, and it was good but not perfect. And then I increased our hot cocoa base (sugar, cocoa powder, and water) by just a little bit and ended up with THE most delicious mug of rich, deep, chocolatey, PERFECT hot cocoa in the world. I honestly like it more than the regular dairy version I’ve made in previous years. It is absolute HEAVEN.
If homemade hot cocoa is new for you, you’re about to be blown away by how easy it is to make. It’s barely harder than mixing a packet of cocoa into hot milk, but it tastes so. so. so. so. much better!
Here’s what you do:
- Whisk together your cocoa base in a small/medium pot: cocoa powder, sugar, water. Let this heat up just until it’s become one uniform “syrup” (takes almost no time)
- Add your oat milk and whisk to combine. Heat up to whatever temp you want your cocoa to be. For me, it’s hot but not simmering.
- Remove from the heat, add your vanilla, coffee, and a few pinches of salt (you can skip the vanilla and coffee if you want to go super basic, but those few little additions add some nice depth!)
Top with lots of marshmallows, curl up next to your fireplace with a cozy blanket, and sip away. It’s magic.
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