This dark chocolate cocoa mix is deeply chocolaty and rich, while being just sweet enough to balance the bitterness from the cocoa. A pinch of sea salt and spice rounds out the flavor without overpowering the chocolate flavor, although you can experiment with bold flavors if you like.
½-1tspcinnamon, vanilla powder, turmeric, or cayenneoptional flavorings
Instructions
Hot Cocoa Mix:
Sift the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Sift each of the other ingredients over the top to remove lumps and help them mix together.
Whisk or sift the ingredients together until they are uniformly blended.
Transfer into an airtight container (I like a glass jar with a wire bail top and gasket for easy access).
To Prepare Cocoa:
Add 2-4 tablespoons of cocoa mix to a mug and top up with boiling water. I like about 3 tablespoons of mix for a typical 8-10 oz mug, but you can adjust this for your taste preferences.
For extra-rich hot cocoa, make this with hot milk, or add a small splash of half and half to each mug.
Garnish with marshmallows or a cinnamon stick if you like.
Notes
I used 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp red chili powder in this mix, but you can kick that up and make your cocoa much more spicy if you are feeling adventurous. Increase the amounts of both the dried chili powder and cinnamon, or just the cinnamon, to make a spicy Mexican hot chocolate. Or try a dash of turmeric, cardamom, or garam masala, for an earthy spiced chocolate chai variation, or you could keep it plain and simple with just chocolate, sugar, milk, and salt... it's your choice!