Give the gift of hot cocoa to the entire family with this allergen-friendly mix. Add a bottle of the spike of your choice so that the entire family can enjoy a treat. This post is the start of #ChristmasWeek, a sweets-filled extravaganza hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kiss My Smoke.
Note: I am taking a break from my usual routine of posting recipes using local produce from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, and the garden. If you've got a pile of veggies you're looking to use, may I suggest checking out my
Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient?
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| Does this photo look like the chaos that ensues during tree trimming time? It's supposed to. Or maybe that's just my house. |
I'm going to come across as a total booze hound in this post and I apologize in advance. I know that turning to alcohol will not solve any of life's petty little annoyances nor cure any chronic behavior issues. I know that alcohol is not a long term coping solution for any of life's stressors. If you are concerned about giving a gift with alcohol, please feel free to substitute any of the flavored syrups posted below as your spike of choice. Those flavored syrups are going in our Christmas stockings (and hopefully my kids aren't reading this).
With that caveat out of the way . . . it can be pretty damn hard to solo parent teens, or really kids in general, and the extra activities of the holidays make it doubly hard. Please consider giving the gift of a jar of Spiked Hot Cocoa Mix to anyone you know who would enjoy it--even yourself. What a wonderful way to unwind after a busy holiday than with a cup of hot cocoa--spiked with a little something for mom & dad, [
mom & mom, dad & dad, solo parent] left plain for the kids. I've had such fun working on this recipe and I looked forward to my nightly recipe testing!
You'll notice a couple of subtle changes from the standard hot cocoa gift mix recipe. First off, there is no powdered milk in this recipe. That means you
need to get to mix it with the milk of your choice. An extra step to be sure, but I have my reasons. I grew up drinking the occasional
milk-stretched-with-powdered-milk and personally can't stand the taste of reconstituted milk. I'll bake with it no problem, but I will not drink it by choice. I'd rather literally walk a mile down the street to pick up a gallon of organic milk for me and my kids. [
It's good exercise for the dogs, too.] If you have a dairy allergy or are avoiding cow's milk, this mix is for you as it is dairy free. Please feel free to mix up your hot cocoa with the rice, soy, or nut milk of your choice.
