This is hot chocolate (or drinking chocolate), not hot cocoa. What’s the difference, you ask? Hot cocoa is made by adding hot water or hot milk to a powdered mix of cocoa, often containing sweeteners, dried milk, and flavoring. Hot chocolate is created by melting chocolate (either from a bar or chips) in milk.

The difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa is not only in the method and ingredients, it’s in the flavor and texture as well. I find many of the hot cocoa mixes to be quite sweet and lacking in good flavor and somewhat thin. Hot chocolate, on the other hand, is rich and creamy and deep. The chocolate flavor takes center stage, not the sweetener or artificial flavorings. It’s so rich that I find that I can’t drink very much of it! Granted, you can make some excellent hot cocoa by mixing it yourself. But it lacks the depth of flavor and wonderful texture of hot chocolate.

Last winter I tried hot chocolate for the first time. I was won over instantly. It was so thick and smooth that it felt like I was drinking chocolate pudding.

Now get into your kitchen and try it out! It’s so easy to make.

You’ll need 6 simple ingredients: whole milk, cream, a little sweetener (I used demerara, but you can use anything you like), a bit of salt, pure vanilla extract, and some good-quality chocolate (I used 70% cacao, but you could use something sweeter if you prefer).

Begin by chopping up your favorite chocolate nice and fine. You want to chop it up quite a bit so it melts easily.

Heat the milk and cream to a low simmer, whisking occasionally. You don’t want to scorch your milk. Add your sweetener, salt, and chocolate.

Whisk in the vanilla extract.

Whisk vigorously until all of the chocolate has melted. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, whisking constantly. The hot chocolate will thicken a bit as it cooks.

Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy all by itself or with a dollop of whipped cream or some good marshmallows. Prepare for some major enjoyment!

Note: If you find this hot chocolate to be too rich, you could try replacing the cream with milk.

You can check out my original post on my blog, or view the recipe below.

Printable Recipe

Homemade Hot Chocolate

by Erica Lea on February 7, 2011 in Drinks February 7, 2011 Drinks

See post on Erica Lea’s site!

4.66 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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Real hot chocolate, made with dark chocolate and whole milk. It’s like drinking chocolate pudding.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight Chocolate (preferably Dark)
• 3-½ cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• 3 teaspoons Maple Syrup Or Natural Sweetener Of Choice
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

1. Chop chocolate very finely.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring milk and cream to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

3. Add chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Whisk vigorously until all of the chocolate has melted. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, whisking constantly.

4. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

 
 
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Newly-married Erica Kastner shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Cooking for Seven. She also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, EricaLea.com. There really isn’t much that this amazing young lady can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.

 
Homemade chicken and dumplings. Or, chicken n’ dumplins’ rather, as we like to say in the South. I had been eagerly searching for a recipe like the kind I enjoyed so much growing up and this one, from TIffany (TK member Eat at Home), nailed it.

There are many different versions of chicken and dumplings and this is definitely the one that reminds me of home. For this version, the dumplings are rolled out thin and sliced, rather than dropped biscuit-style into the bubbling chicken stock. The result is a creamy, thick chicken stew that is just perfect for chilly nights! Try it and be converted to a dumplin’ lover forever.

Another reason I love this dish so much? Look how simple it is! You don’t need anything fancy—just cooked chicken, flour, milk, butter, salt, baking powder and broth. The recipe said to use cooked chicken and I had just finished roasting one, so it turned out perfect! I highly recommend using a roast chicken (either roasted at home or rotisserie for this!).

To make the dumplings, in a large bowl measure out 2 cups of flour …

A half teaspoon of baking powder …


And some butter! Cut this in with your fingers and mix until the dough looks crumbly, sort of like making pie dough!

Then add a little less than a cup of milk and a pinch of salt.

Mix the dough together and then roll out on a heavily floured surface. You definitely don’t want to go easy on the flour—using a lot of flour here is what will make the broth thicken later!

Once you have the dough rolled out, make long slices either using a pizza cutter, a pastry cutter or just a plain ol’ knife.

Then make criss-crosses so you have lots of cute little dumpling squares. Remember to keep everything covered in flour!

Bring your broth or stock to a boil and drop the dumplings in, along with any extra flour on the table. Gently stir but be careful not to mash them.

Finally, add your cooked chicken to the pot and serve. So, so, so easy! When I served this to my boyfriend for dinner, I slyly asked him how long he thought I spent making it. He guessed four hours (four hours, people!) and couldn’t believe it when I told him it took me only 30 minutes. Amazing.

You’ll want to make this recipe, asap. Thank you so much Tiffany for such a nostalgic treat! Be sure to check out her blog Eat at Home for more of her delicious recipes.

Printable Recipe

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

by Eat at Home on August 2, 2009 in Main Courses, Poultry August 2, 2009 Main CoursesPoultry

See post on Eat at Home’s site!

4.95 Mitt(s) 44 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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A bowl of chicken and dumplings. A glass of sweet tea. It’s a meal any Kentuckian would be proud to fix and danged happy to sit down to. And it’s not hard to make. Come on, I’ll show you how.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
• 2 quarts Chicken Broth
• 3 cups Cooked Chicken

Preparation Instructions

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.

Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.

Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.

Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings.

To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!

For more pictures and instructions, see the related link above!

 
 
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Jenna is a food writer who has worked as a pastry chef and bread baker. Her blog Eat, Live, Run has great recipes, travel stories, and the perfect slogan: “Celebrating life, one crumb at a time.”

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