Decadent Hot Chocolate - Single Serve

You know that post I made, like, forever ago about the hot chocolate/cocoa? It makes about 5 servings and sometimes you just feel like one serving -- you know?

I always feel like just one serving. Of a drink. Not food.

Well, today I got home from the Y and felt like making myself some cocoa/chocolate while I enjoyed my great hair day (haha). Turns out we almost never have cocoa mix unless it's the dead of a snowy winter and we're going to be sledding all day, so I had (just had) to make myself some. I really like the decadent cocoa stuff, so I decided to make that except, um, one problem -- I can't make a single-serve mugful of that stuff.

Ohh WAIT.

I just did.

I cut the recipe in half, basically, and bingo, there you go -- Single-Serve Decadent Hot Chocolate.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 3/4 c milk (I used 1%, but any kind will do)
• 1/4 c heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 T cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1/2 T gran sugar
• 2 T choc chips, semi-sweet (not important, but to get that not-quite-too-sweet flavor, semi is the best kind)
• 1/4 t vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix milk, cream, cocoa powder, and sugar together. I used a measuring pitcher thing (Pyrex) because my whisk didn't fit in my cup and besides, it's easier when it's bigger. Much easier to whisk. So, whisk it all together or stir, it doesn't matter, but it's cooler to watch the cocoa powder mix in when you whisk it, so I'd suggest you whisk it. 
2. Microwave for 1:30m or until steaming (I microwaved mine for 1:30m and it was perfect -- just warm. If I had done it for 2m, it would have been tongue-burning hot, but as it was it was right there on the spot. Perfect!)
3. Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract, stir and then cover for 30s, to give the ch. chips enough time to melt a little bit. Whisk until smooth.

The chocolate stuck to the side of my measuring pitcher, so I'd say look at the edges to make sure it's all off. Unless your cup isn't glass and then bummer for you because once you reach the bottom, you'll notice streaks of chocolate on the side. Yich, it sounds really gross the way I put it.

But it's really delicious, and a little bit creamier than the original. If you don't like the taste of creamy in your drinks, I'd suggest you put in an 1/8 c and leave it at that. What I would do if I were you and didn't like creamy tastes in drinks, I'd try it first and see how I like it and then try it without so much cream. Or without cream at all. But that might fail -- I've never tried it without cream.

But that might be because I made it, for the first time, (and made it up, too) today.

Your thoughts?

P.S. I have a lot more recipes that I'm hoping to get around to posting so eek! Very excited but I'm technically still not blogging on here. I'm not coming back, but I'm posting occasionally. Just pretend I'm a guest poster...without a post host. Or whatever they're called.

5 Min or Less - Frozen Cappuccinos

I'm surprised I haven't posted this yet. I was sure (so sure that I even searched this blog just to make sure) that I had already posted this recipe.

If not, then I'll go ahead and do it, because everyone should have this recipe.

It's really good -- especially on a hot, hot melting summer day. The ones that are creeping up on us. Today it was -- is -- like, 70 out. It was terrific! I love summer. Cannot wait!

Serves: 4 (if you're serving in small glasses -- but it really serves 1, in a coke glass)
Time: 5 min, max

Ingredients

• ice cubes, a lot of 'em
• 1 t inst coffee
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1/4 c cream
• 1/4 c milk

Directions

1. fill the cup you'll be using to serve with ice cubes, up to the brim. Pour into the blender.
2. pour in sugar, cream, milk in that order (saves cup measures and cream -- explanation later)
3. dump in inst. coffee
4. pulse on high till smooth, or until ice breaks down (about 5 pulses)
5. pour into cup(s) and

 
You know how I told you to pour the sugar, cream, milk in that order into the blender because it saves cup measures and cream? And how I told you I'd explain it later? This is the later. One, it saves cup measures because you only need one cup measure to measure those three ingredients because once you've gotten the dry ingredients out of the way, you can measure lots of wet ingredients and reuse as you please. Second, it saves cream because you know how cream is thicker than milk? Well, that means cream's going to "stick" to your cup measure and leave a lot behind, unlike the milk (unless you're using 2% or whole, or anything other than skim -- I use skim. Can you tell?) which just slides right on out -- all of that white water that people slap a label on and call "milk". Or, more accurately, "skim". So if you use cream and then pour the milk in after you've used the measuring cup, it will act as a cleaner-outer and clean out all that cream and dump it in with the milk, cleaning the sides of the measuring cup, too. Simple, right? You betcha. Enjoy those dishes that aren't as much as you'd use if you had used two measuring cups -- one for the dry, one for the wet. You can thank me later. Like, this later, in the comments. winky face.

Decadent Hot Chocolate | America's Test Kitchen

Okay, raise your hand if you don't like hot chocolate.

If you raised your hand, then why are you here.

And if you don't know that hot chocolate and cocoa are the same, join the club me neither. Wellll, ok, I wasn't that extreme.

I just never called it hot chocolate.

But since the recipe below (from America's Test Kitchen) called it hot chocolate, I will too. Besides, everyone where I live calls it hot chocolate, so why not blend in with the crowd? And really you have to admit that hot chocolate sounds much more richer than COCOA. Cocoa reminds me of this watery brown mixture that you manage to swallow in as little time as possible, burning your throat on the way down, that's so bland you don't even know why you like it so much. It's just because you don't want to add more and you don't want to pour it out after wasting about five spoons of the stuff that it's bland, though.

Yeah, that stuff.

Really, it was just because I was such a terrible penny-pincher and cocoa-mix-pincher. I just wanted to ration it properly so that the mix would last for weeks and weeks!

...and at the rate I was going, it would.

Anyway, last Sunday we made this and it was really really delicious.

Rich, creamy, sweet enough for me (I don't like bland, bitter, or not-sweet -- exception: black coffee -- so basically, in a few words: I don't like hot chocolate. Cocoa. Whichever it is that's not sweet normally), but not too sweet -- now there's a picture-perfect cup of hot chocolate!

Also, it has only a couple ingredients (win!), all of which you should be able to find in your house, even when the house is stripped bare of anything close to resembling edible-ness (double win!). Another thing, few ingredients means fewer dishes (triple win!).

Win win (or winwinwin) for all of us, emiright.

And all you need is a saucepan, lid, spatula, measuring stuff, ingredients, and a stove to make it. Easy!

So, to make this creamy, lucious, delightful, satisfying, fullfilling, refreshing, fills all your senses, delicious, mouth watering, you will fall in love, fruity tooty, tangy, tasteful, sweet, a pinch of lemon, tempting, dangerous drink *gasp of breath* follow the directions below. 

(sorry! I just saw this, and thought maybe it could be used to describe hot chocolate! Besides, "fruity tooty" is a fun word, especially when used to describe hot chocolate!)

Note: this is not America's Test Kitchen's exact recipe... I've changed it a little bit. I will probably not post the original, but you can probably find it online. 

Serves:  4
Time (start to finish):  10m, fast

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c milk (not precise)
• 1/2 c heavy cream (not precise -- just throw some in)
• 1 T cocoa powder (not sweet)
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (I throw in a big handful)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Put in milk, cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in pan. Once hot, and looking puffy on the top, turn off the heat. Really, it doesn't need to look puffy, it just needs to be hot. Ask yourself if you would be comfortable drinking it the way it is...if you let it cool off a little bit? If so, you're ready for the next step. It DOES NOT need to boil -- just until it's steaming or a few degrees above what you're willing to pour down your throat. Just make sure it's not uncomfortably so. Your throat, though.
2. Once you've turned off the heat, put in the chocolate chips and the vanilla. Cover immediately after that so that the chocolate doesn't stick to the bottom.
3. Let chips melt about 1 min, then whisk smooth before serving.
4. When done, top with whipped cream and plop a candy cane in, for looks, or serve plain and

How to Make a Cafe Mocha | Buttered Side Up

So you thought you knew how to make mocha, did you? Good news, so did I.

Me, I normally pull out the instant coffee, pour hot water over it, dump in some Nesquik or a cocoa packet and there's my "mocha".

But this! Now this is going the extra mile!

I stumbled upon the recipe a while back when I happened to glance at the computer in passing and this recipe was open. I read it and looked at the pictures.

Boy do pictures help!

This recipe (or, the pictures in this recipe) looked absolutely delicious! I decided this would definitely be on my "To Try" page.

And it's about to stop being on my "To Try" page.


Or at least moved to "Already Tried" page.

Just kidding, don't have one of those.

So, anyway, I was thinking about a good, strong cup of coffee. Well, as you most likely know, instant just doesn't meet those standards. So I got to thinking and then I thought hey you know what shine Google, I don't need to look up "delicious simple coffee"! ...or something along those lines (yes, I admit it, that was what I was going to do if I couldn't think up a recipe)...

because I had a brilliant idea!

Or something along those lines.

Well, I knew I hadn't made a "To Try" page for nothing. I just looked through the list but do you know, I only have two recipes (coincidentally both from Buttered Side Up) with a coffee base!

Like, woht.

So, ok, at least I have two, even though that's not much. But my resolve: to get more coffee recipes on my "To Try" page that are actually doable and makeable and yummyable!

No, not "yummyable".

Forget I said that.

So, that was my big ordeal to find a recipe, and then there was my big ordeal to make the recipe, which is a totally different story.

As you should know if you've read the Buttered Side Up post, she lists two options for this drink: one that is milder and sweeter and one that is more intense. I thought I would try the more intense one because, well, that is what I was looking for in the first place. But then I thought about it (yes, I actually thought about it) and realized that it was probably harder or longer or required more equipment that I don't have (and probably never will have) so if that was the case, I would make the milder, sweeter version. *tear*.

More about that later.

Another thing she has is a notice sort of thing. She likes her coffee frothier. Because who doesn't. But she actually as equipment and I do not. So, instead of buying something on Amazon and waiting two days for it to arrive (two days is a long time for a coffee drink that was supposed to be quick), I decided I would just use a whisk. Yes, whisks do work because I used to always drink a frothy coffee and I would just dump in a bunch of cream and whisk away.

No, I was not fat. I just liked fat.

Or, fatty foods. Same difference.

And I don't have chocolate syrup so I'm using unsweetened cocoa because believe me I've got plenty of that. And maple syrup? Have that too. And since I'm not using chocolate syrup, I don't have to cut down or take away the maple syrup. *oh joy*.

She also says "I actually don't use a recipe most of the time when I make a mocha: I make it up as I go. Think of this recipe as a starting place and customize to your liking!"

Will I ever!

And no I don't have a coffee maker because I barely have any equipment.

Having second thoughts on the easiness of this recipe...

But I chose it so I'll stick to it.  I wish I weren't so sticky.

These things decided, I headed to the kitchen, recipe in hand. Well, no, not recipe in hand because I'm using a computer. But same thing, right. As I've always said (as of today): "I came, I saw, I conquered!"

Also, can I just say right now as a side note, I love her dishes.

There. That over, let us go, prepared, into battle!

Boy was it a battle.

First, let me list for you the ingredients and those that I have or don't have (including equipment!).

His

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons half and half (in the negative)
• 1/2 oz. espresso, fresh or cold (no)
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup (HALF OUNCE!?!? HOLY SMOKES! and NO! at least, not for JUST ONE drink!)
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (yes)
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (yes)
• 2 teaspoons cocoa/cacao powder (positive)  

Hers

• 3/4 cup half and half (no)
• 3 teaspoons cocoa powder (yes)
• 4 teaspoons espresso, fresh or cold (neither)    
• 2 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup (that's more like it! *sigh of relief* YES!)
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (yes)
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (yup)  

So, looking at all that, it seems a little obvious that I will, in fact, be doing hers. The stronger version. Yay! So, no, I won't be doing his, I'll be doing what I set out to do in the first place. Which is very nice.

The directions and the way I did them:

1. I made myself some coffee. I had to make it instant *tear* because it's a big ordeal to make espresso, and I wanted quick, fast, easy, and making espresso doesn't fall under any of those categories. But since it's supposed to be strong, instead of dumping in one spoonful, I dumped in two. Smart thinking am I right? So I made that, covered it with a cloth so that it wouldn't cool off, and set it aside for later.
2.  Also, I decided that since I had cream and milk, why not mix them? So, I did half and half my way: I made 1/2 cup mixture of milk and cream and then poured it into a measuring cup. Apparently my math is wrong. I've known it for a long time, actually. But it didn't quite fill the 3/4 cup measure. So I had to make more. This time I was tired of it and had no clue how to make it full, so I just used my eyes. Apparently my eyes are wrong too, because there was still a little bit left in the measure. One half of me said oh well and good riddance! the other half said but that's not 3/4 of a cup. My second half won. I mixed up a teeny bit more (splash of cream, dash of milk). Had to do the procedure two more times! After doing that fun process, I dumped it into a small saucepan, and let it get hot.
3.  While the half-and-half-mixture-made-by-me was getting hot, I was too. I put the cocoa in a mug, poured 4 teaspoons of the instant *errr* over the cocoa, and stirred it just like she said. Of course, being instant, it's not thick at all, so I stared sadly into my thin mix. Oh well. I'll know better in the future if I don't forget.
4. Then I stirred in the remaining ingredients. No problem-O! And actually 2 1/2 tsp of maple syrup is a lot more than you think so, feeling guilty, I poured about 6 drops back into the container and 2 drops into my mouth. That made me feel better.
5. Looked at the directions. "Froth milk with hand frother". Or, in my case, a whisk. Check! But I couldn't really froth half and half when it's that shallow, so I poured it into my now-empty instant coffee mug (ha. ha. No, I had wayy over-calculated so I had a 7 oz. cup of coffee. errr. Instead I just poured it into a custard cup, and then a mug because it just barely fit into the custard cup, spilling half of it, and then I had to run and get a rag to mop it all up while it cooled. Errr. Should have used a custard cup to measure the half and half. So then I started to froth it and it splashed onto my arm. Apparently it didn't cool while I went to get a rag. Boy was it hot. All pretty handy dandy right.) and frothed it until my arms called a halt.
6. As slowly as I could, I poured the frothed milk into the mix of instant coffee, cocoa, and all the other ingredients that I'm not going to waste time listing, but I couldn't pour it slowly without half of it spilling down the sides, onto the counter! So then I just put it into a measuring cup with a spout (I think you use it to do something with gravy...?) which would have been VERY convenient for frothing (all the things I could have done to save time and extra dishes! *groan*) which stinks. Arrrgh. This better be fabulous is all I'm sayin'.
7. And, since I didn't have whipped cream and probably won't until Thanksgiving (not far off, thank goodness, because I make a special *booze* mixture! ...or, Mom does. but still...), I just drank it without the whipped cream which won't be as good, of course, but it's the next best thing.
8. Anyway, a couple minutes and a couple hundred dishes later, I sat down to enjoy my mocha. I would have enjoyed it better with whipped cream on top, but what can you do? I know what I can do--make some! Since the cream's best-by date is TOMORROW I decided why not use some of it up today. Better, right. So I made whipped cream (thank heavens not as complicated as the mocha) and sat down once more to fully enjoy my mocha. HA. HA. and more HAs. I didn't make any whipped cream because unfortunately, we were having ice cream sundaes, so no peace. Also, no whipped cream. Sigh.

My thinking: 
even though this was way a pain, it wasn't supposed to be and it was only because of me. I just made it a pain. And it really is delicious, even though it has a weird aftertaste. But I can endure that. I can endure anything, as is apparent after all the stuff I went through to get a cafe mocha.

Anyway, this was pretty good, even if it did have a weird aftertaste.

Also, relations make perfect guinea pigs don't you think?*

Anyway, I urge you to try it and see how you like it.
 
P.S. looked at this today (today being the 15th of October) and realized that I've posted 14 coffee recipes! That's ok. More coffee recipes, the better.

--
*if you don't know what I mean, Google "definition of guinea pig" and read the 2nd definition Google gives for a guinea pig. That's right: "a person or thing used as a subject for experiment."
 

Easy Pop-Off Mocha

Easy because you only need a few minutes, and you're sure to have the ingredients, pop-off because I always imagine the words "pop-off" when I think of going to sleep or just relaxing.

Don't look it up on Google.

...and mocha because Google's definition of the word "mocha" is "/ˈmōkə/ noun noun: mocha 1. a fine-quality coffee. 2. a soft kind of leather made from sheepskin." and since I know that this isn't a soft kind of leather made from sheepskin, I can pretty well call this coffee "mocha". Well it is a fine-quality coffee (if your coffee is fine-quality).

Ingredients

• 7 oz. coffee (dbl strength is great, inst. is fine, fine-quality is just right)
• 1/2 tsp unsweetened baking cocoa
• 1/8 (or 3-4 drops) vanilla extract
• 2-3 Tbsp fast caramel sauce (see "Add-Ons" page for fast caramel sauce recipe)
• 1/2-1 c milk

Also, a better (newer, updated) version will be arriving relatively soon only this time it will be called a relatively better name, "Caramel Mocha". Sounds more like something you would get at Starbucks than something that you would get from, say, a blog.

This blog.

Too bad. I like having my recipes ("my") sounding like they just stepped out of a 5-star restaurant. Like that's going to happen.

Another thing, this coffee isn't sweet at all, so the following is for your convenience.

for a creamier version:

• 1-2 Tbsp cream or
• 1/2-1 c whipped cream stirred in until dissolved

for a sweeter version:

• 3-5 Tbsp fast caramel sauce
• 1-3 Tbsp brown sugar dispensed directly into coffee or
• sweetened to taste (though not too sweet--this recipe isn't supposed to be very sweet)

for a creamier and sweeter version:

• 1-3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• add 1 Tbsp cream if it's still too milky
• sidenote: add 1 tsp inst. coffee if it's too milky, creamy, sweet, or all three

Directions:

• Add all ingredients, make sure it's dissolved.
• Make whipped cream (homemade is always the way to go unless you're pressed for time and then just don't make it at all--wait until you have the time to make whipped cream. You'll thank me one day).
• Put whipped cream on top of mocha.
• For fancier style, add chocolate or cocoa shavings or (and this is more preferable) drizzle caramel sauce on top
• Serve immediately (or whipped cream will start to melt) and

P.S. the not-sweet part has been tasted and thoroughly enjoyed by someone other than me (I didn't exactly enjoy it because I have been either blessed or cursed--depending on who you ask--with a sweet tooth) but I'm sure the sweet part will be just as good. Maybe. Because I haven't tried it I can't say for sure. But I will be able to say for sure during 2016's YRT. So yay. Also, if you've tried the sweeter version, comment below and tell me which sweet version you tried and if you liked it or not. And if you found this post confusing (I know I did), comment below. Tell me. ~grey

Peppermint Mocha

(Coffee recipe #6)
Told you there would be a lot of coffee recipes coming through. And I haven't even posted half of them! They're all in a folder, all together, all waiting to be posted. Don't worry, some day they will. But for right now I have only one...just one. And just one post for it, too. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk (not a measuring cup, a real cup, that you drink out of)
• 1 dash peppermint mocha creamer (Coffee Mate)
• 1 teabag chai tea

Directions

1. Put milk in microwave 1-2 minutes.
2. Put in peppermint mocha.
3. Put teabag in and steep for 3-4 minutes (or whatever time you want)
4. Sweeten if desired and