Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Utah captured my heart this Spring. Spring in Utah is a funny thing-- not really spring, March in the desert is more like half winter and half summer.  

When the morning wakes you, you’ll find your sleeping bag pulled as high around your head as it can go, covering your cheeks and leaving just enough space so to breath. Eventually, motivated by the thought of coffee, or tea, or anything warm, you'll peek out, and see the snow, still coming down in oversized flakes that fall impossibly slow. Lighting that two-burner camping stove will never sound so good.  

Outside, there is a different view in every direction, but all of them will make you feel small — just a tiny human, standing on a slice of something far too large to imagine. Cliffs, a deep crimson color, tower above. They sit gallantly on piles of sand, like the earth's version of sandcastles, displaying layer on layer of dirt. Each layer seems to expose something about the world, every band of sand marking an era of the past. At their feet grow short and twisted juniper trees, struggling to grow.  

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe
Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

When the water boils, and you pull it from the stove, the pot will spout a tower of steam into the air above, melting the snow as it falls. When you turn around, you’ll see a mountain range all Coloradans know well, crisp and white, capped with ice. They look bigger from Utah, surrounded by flat plains, deep rifts, and the occasional rock spire. You’ll know what I mean when you see it for yourself: it’s as if those mountains scrape the clouds off of the sky, catching them on their peaks and hanging on.  

The snow will eventually stop (it’s spring, after all), and the unshielded sun will melt every white patch away. The desert sand will suck up any moisture that remains, and by 10 the ground will be dry again, as if nothing happened. That's when you’ll sit back in a folding chair, a rich mug of homemade hot chocolate in hand.  

There is nothing to feel other than awe. Belittled by the jagged, barren canyons and cliffs on one side, humbled by the majestic peaks to the other. Small-- small and awestruck. 

Here is a beverage to drink on those chilly mornings at camp, or around the campfire in the evening — Double chocolate Hot Cocoa. It’s made with bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder (that’s the “double” part). Dehydrated milk adds creaminess, so even when you’re out exploring you don’t have to remember the milk! Though, if you are are really prepared, top your mug with a dollop of whipped  cream or marshmallows, and consider a splash of whiskey. Sitting around the campfire has never been so sweet!

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Published March 27, 2016 by

Serves: 8   |    Active Time: 20 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 1-3 tablespoons coconut sugar (depending on how sweet you would like your cocoa — 1 for not very sweet, 3 for more sweet)
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup dehydrated non-fat milk powder
  • To make cocoa: 8 ounces of water; and whipped cream or marshmallows for serving

  • Directions:

    1. Place coconut sugar, salt, and chocolate in blender or food processor and pulse until a fine powder is formed.
    2. Add cocoa powder and milk powder, and pulse blender again, just until everything is incorporated.
    3. Store cocoa mix in a air-tight jar.
    4. To make cocoa: Bring 8 ounces of water to a boil. Whisk 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix with the water until dissolved. (To get the froth shown in the images, use a hand-held milk aerator). Pour cocoa into mug, and top with whipped cream or marshmallows as desired.

    2 Comments

    Homemade Loose Leaf Masala Chai Tea

    Update! This recipe is one of my faves. I shot new photos in December of 2018, and updated the recipe a little bit. Watch the video below!

    My first introduction to this spicy drink was in middle school, when my mom brought home a carton of Oregon Chai concentrate. Little did I know that single discovery would take me on quite the Chai-adventure!

    I quickly learned to love plenty of other types of chai — and began to prefer spicier flavors over sweeter ones (if you’ve tried Oregon Chai, you know it’s pretty dang syrupy!). Bhakti Chai was a small start up in my home town at the time, and I fell in love with the pungent ginger in each sip. A mug of Bhakti Chai became a very special treat when I went to college — something I’d buy myself when I went to the school library during finals week.

    I visited India with my dad when I was about 15. There, chai was served out of little carts on every street corner. It was called “Masala Chai,” because the word “chai” in Hindi simply means “tea.” Each cart served up their own recipe, a proprietary blend of spices and served with raw sugar. I scribbled down one recipe from a woman in Udiapur, and have been using that as my baseline ever since. But that’s the thing with Masala Chai: everyone’s version is slightly different. Some people want it sweet and cinnamon-y. Others want the ginger to be bright and bold and in your face. Me? I’m a cardamom lover, though I don’t object to the ginger, either. I also prefer honey over sugar. Lately I’ve been digging this Lazy Bee Ranch Whipped Honey, made locally in Colorado.

    Once you’ve made Masala Chai three or four times, you’ll start to realize which camp you sit in, and you can adapt your own recipe to match exactly that.

    Making chai at home is far superior in terms of flavor than buying tea bags. It’s also far cheaper than buying pre-made concentrates. If I’m going to make a big batch of chai at home, I’ll use fresh ginger root and simmer it with spices in a soup pot. It usually doesn’t last more than a day — we drink it non-stop until it’s gone.

    This recipe, however, calls for ginger tea (not crystallized ginger, but dried ginger) instead of fresh ginger. Why? Well, sometimes a girl wants her chai and she doesn’t want to bowl a whole soup pot just to get a mug of it! 🙃Using dried ginger means you can keep this tea in your cupboard with the rest of your teas, and brew a mug at a time on demand whenever you please. It’s the best for when I need a pick me up on a work day.

    I also almost always make a hot mug of chai in my thermos when we go climbing or hiking in the spring, fall, or winter. It keeps me warm when it starts to get chilly, and I enjoy the caffeine lift in the afternoon.

    Homemade Loose Leaf Masala Chai Tea

    Published June 10, 2015 by

    Yield: 15   |    Active Time: 40 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 12 cardamom pods
  • 4-5 whole cloves
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 3 whole allspice berries
  • Pinch whole anise seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick (about 2-3 inches long)
  • 3 tablespoons black Assam tea (English breakfast works too, if it’s all you can find!)
  • 2 tablespoons dried ginger tea
  • For serving: water for brewing tea, and honey and milk to taste

  • Directions:

    1. Place cardamom pods, cloves, peppercorns, allspice berries, anise seeds and cinnamon stick in a small skillet. Toast over low heat, stirring, until spices are fragrant.
    2. Scrape spices into a mortar and pestle, and roughly grind the spices.
    3. Combine Assam tea, ginger, and ground spices in a bowl or jar. Stir to combine.
    4. Tea can be stored at room temperature in an air tight jar for quick some time — it may start to loose some of it’s flavor after a few months.
    5. To brew: Heat 8 ounces of hot water. Place tea in a fine mesh tea stainer in a mug, and pour water into mug. Allow to steep for 5 minutes, then remove tea and strainer from mug. Sweeten with honey and milk to taste.
    6. You may find that the bottom of your mug had spices in it — that’s where all the flavor comes from! I avoid drinking that very last sip, just like I might avoid taking the very last sip of sludgy French press coffee. Personal preference!

    6 Comments

    Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

    What do you do when you need a "reset"? 

    Last week, we had a really grey day. It wasn't just cloudy--it actually hailed and snowed before the clouds gave way! It left a heavy feeling on everything: spring's first daffodils sagged to the ground, people moved slowly, and my pep, which often correlates with sunny weather, settled at ho-hum levels. 

    Often my "reset" button is going for a run. When I'm in a rut, running is like mediation for me. The practice of mediation usually emphasizes not thinking at all, but I struggle with that. The meditative state I find while on a run is different. It's quiet so that I can reflect, but I can't think too hard. Instead my mind just wanders in an unconstrained stream of consciousness. 

    Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

    I love the freedom that comes with running, so when I awoke to that grey, grey day last week, I was sort of bummed. Not only was the cloud cover leaving me feeling "blah," it was keeping me from enjoying springtime on the trail. I needed something to make the morning brighter. The answer: a Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie.

    The color of this smoothie was enough to get me excited. And then I took a sip, and left that grey-mood on the floor. It was creamy and luscious (thank you, coconut milk!), and bright and fresh (an you too, fresh ginger and pineapple!). I used coconut water, which is great for hydration--this smoothie probably would makes a great post run gulp, but hey--sometimes you wake up to hail and you just have to take life as it comes. Packed with Vitamins A and C, this smoothie is a powerhouse in a glass and totally brightened my week. I hope it can do the same for you! 

    Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

    Published March 15, 2015 by

    Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 10 minutes



    Ingredients:

    • 2 medium-sized carrots, roughly chopped
    • 1/2 cup coconut water
    • 1/2 cup milk of choice (dairy, nut milk, coconut milk, etc)
    • 1/2 cup pineapple, fresh, frozen or canned
    • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
    • 1 banana, frozen
    • 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
    • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
    • Pinch teaspoon cloves
    • Pinch teaspoon nutmeg
    • 1/4 cup crushed ice
    • 1 tablespoon toasted coconut, for garnish

    Directions:

    1. Add all ingredients aside from toasted coconut to blender and puree until smooth.
    2. Pour into two glasses, and garnish with toasted coconut. Serve cold.