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.

June Wrap-Up

I labeled this as "review" because it's a review over the month.

Ummm...

Yeah, that's it.

Thanks!

Arrivaderci

Hello, all!

I have recently started a blog called Remodify and have been working on that for a long time. While I was working on it, I started thinking and realized that three blogs was too much to handle all at once -- and still post frequently. Since Remodify will need pictures, I need to aim my focus on that blog. And since I don't have any more recipes to post, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to stop posting on Salt Water Taffy. I will leave it open for the general public (but mostly for me) so they can have access to recipes (so that I can have access to recipes, nobody else reads this but me) and if I get new recipes I will definitely post them (if I find time, that is).

Right now I'm working on Remodify and Stars on the Sea.

Since I won't be posting on here anymore and someone may come along and read this in six years, I might as well tell you all about me. Mostly about this blog, but about me, too.

I am, yes, thirteen (do I write like it?), and no, I do not have any sense of humor whatsoever (have you noticed?), I only pretend to (have you noticed?). I've read a couple of my posts in the past and it sounds like I'm living on my own. That's not the case. If you've forgotten, I'm still thirteen. If I say I called my mom, it means my mom was out and I called her. On the phone. If you were wondering how I fit everything in after school and why Mom doesn't just shop while I'm in it (school), answer is I'm homeschooled so she stays home. Her job is to teach, so she doesn't have time to go to the store or get her nails done or gab about with friends and do fun stuff. She likes hanging out with me too much (oh boy).

On last thing -- the other reason I wanted to stop blogging (I didn't list another reason, but there is one) is because, next to Remodify, this blog looks grey, dingy, UNAPPETIZING (get it because it's a food blog lolololololol there's my fake humor again), and unprofessional. My sister Skye is a graphic designer and I've seen websites she's in favor of. I can tell you right now that Salt Water Taffy's never been on there.

I was joking.

Of course it's never been on there (how in the world would she find it and why would she look at it for more than 2 seconds), it's just a way of saying SWT looks ugly. It's just not very good-looking. Yeah, I could totally fix it up, but I don't really want to because I don't have any more recipes and now I'm just repeating myself and now I'm just repeating myself.

Well so long, Screwy.

~Mairi, age 13 (14 on June 6th)

P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation, though!

Blog Hiatus

I'm going to take a few weeks off (this week and next week -- maybe longer, but I'll tell you when the time comes) for a break and a vacation. This week is going to be really busy getting ready for the vacation and next week will be the vacation. I might take a longer one because I'm getting a little tired of blogging and because I only have so many recipes I can post.

But I have a delicious recipe (obviously -- I'm not going to give you something gross) for pumpkin bread and another for... well, I'm calling it pasta soup (because there's pasta salad, so what about soup?) but my mom said it actually tastes pretty similar to Hamburger Helper and since I personally don't like Hamburger Helper, I'm not going to call it that and turn off potential eaters by giving it the wrong title. So.

I'll see you in two weeks! Until then,

(like, your break)

Decadent Hot Chocolate Rewrite

Updated the Decadent Hot Chocolate recipe, if you guys want better cocoa (if I do say so myself -- though the America's Test Kitchen one was pretty good too).

Check it out and tell me what you think!

Salted Caramel - My Way

You may remember my post on our favorite salted caramel recipe?

Well, that wasn't exactly the recipe we use. That's why I'm here. Like, that's why this post is here. That's why I wrote this post.

This is exactly the recipe we use.

More or less.

You'll Need

• 1 stick butter, unsalted
• 1/2 c light brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated (white) sugar
• 1 c cream
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter
2. Dump in sugars, stir, mix in
3. Stir until sugar mix starts to get a little bit hard. You'll know when it gets "hard" because the mix will start sliding off of your spatula, leaving close to nothing behind when you pull it up out of the mix (tell me you do that too because if you don't, I have no idea how to explain what "hard" means here)
4. Once it's "hard", add cream, stir until boiling. Keep stirring, even after it's started boiling, then after a little bit of stirring (30-60 seconds?), turn off heat.
5. Add salt, stir until salt is well mixed in.
6. Pour into quart jar, store in fridge until needed.

For Heating Directions

1. Put jar in microwave
2. Microwave for 30 min, no more
3. If it's not runny and easy to use, put it in for 30 seconds more, but BE VERY CAREFUL -- you can overheat it and then it's "hard" and gloppy and gross
4. Take out, serve and

Salted Caramel is great for...

1. drinks
   
   1. (hot) coffee
   2. cold coffee
   3. hot chocolate/cocoa
   4. cappuccinos (frozen)
2. frosting/topping (see #1 under #10)
3. decor on cake
4. candy
5. desserts
   
   1. ice cream sundae
   2. mug cake
   3. cake
      
      1. or, decor on cake (see #5)
   4. pie (pecan pie - yum!)
   5. pizookies
6. sweet dips
   
   1. cookie dough dip and the like
7.  or your mouth!

March Wrap-Up

Think of all the wonderful stuff you've accomplished in March...

Now think of all the stuff I've accomplished in March!

Still nothing?

Just to get you started, here are a few things I've done to this blog -- all in March.

March 2 -

• Repost: Two-Ingredient Cough Syrup

March 8 -

• Post: 5 Min or Less - Frozen Cappuccinos

March 10 -

• Came up with the FIRST Kitchen Tip! (see below)
• Post: Kitchen Tip - How to Evenly Melt Butter (Microwave-Style)

March 11 -

• Made scrambled eggs, inspiration for the second Kitchen Tip (see below)
• Post: Kitchen Tip - How to Make Almost-Best Scrambled Eggs Ever

March 14 -

• It's Pi Day!
• Made two key lime pies, ate one (with help, not by myself!)
• Repost: Key Lime Pie, Mom's Way

March 22 -

• Post: Apple Spice Dump Cake

March 31 -

• Made 2016 SPRING BANNER! (aw yaya!)

So, that's it. April Fool's, that's not it! ...but, that's it for March. ;)