Alton Brown’s Hot Cocoa Mix
Instant cocoa is a fine concept, but most commercial mixes aren’t exactly packed with quality ingredients or flavor. My signature instant cocoa blend will fortify you through winter’s worst. My homemade marshmallows go pretty good with this mix too. Just sayin’.
Ingredients
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
- 2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 pinch (or more to taste) ground cayenne pepper*, optional
- Hot milk or water to serve
Instructions
- Combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, milk powder, salt, cornstarch and cayenne in a large airtight container. Secure the lid and shake vigorously to combine, and remember to shake prior to every extraction.
- To serve: Place 2 tablespoons of the mix in a mug and add about 2 fluid ounces hot water or milk. Stir to combine. Fill the mug with more hot water or milk and enjoy.
Notes
* The Aztecs always added chiles to their chocolate. Even a pinch ups the flavor ante quite a bit, and as called for here certainly won’t be sensed as “heat.”
No matter — this is fast, easy and will keep for a year if kept in an airtight container in a cool place.
By Good Eats: The Early Years, © Alton Brown Images 2016
By Alton Brown
