Hot chocolate will stir positive feelings

As a college student, one of the staples in my dorm room was a big can of powdered hot chocolate. No matter what the weather was, I enjoyed relaxing with a big mug of steaming hot chocolate when I was feeling stressed.

I still love the stuff and make it quite a bit this time of year.

One thing I hadn’t tried until recently was making hot chocolate from scratch. I’ve had tons of variations on the powdered kind, and even bought some pods of it for my Keurig not long ago, but that was about it.

Now let me warn you about one thing: If you love hot chocolate like I do and haven’t tried it from scratch before, be aware that doing so will change your perception of the powdered stuff forever. It will never, ever be as good—although it’ll still be passable when you have a craving.

I’m sure many of you have family recipes for hot chocolate hidden away, but the recipe I tried comes from the blog, “One Good Thing by Jillee” by Jill Nystul. (She has a very interesting back story and a book out, as a side note, if you’re interested.) You can find the original recipe at http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/crockpot-hot-chocolate. I added extra vanilla in mine.

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Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

6 cups milk (I used whole)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a crockpot and stir to combine. Leave on low for about two hours, stirring occasionally to get the chocolate off the bottom of the crock (the author suggests a whisk for this process, but I kept having trouble with the chocolate chips getting stuck inside of mine. A good, solid scraper or spoon might be a little easier). When the chocolate is fully melted, serve along with your favorite hot chocolate toppings.

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We shared this with friends, and the four of us each managed to drink a nice, big mug of it and still have some leftover, if you’re wondering how much it makes. If you have some heavy hot chocolate drinkers, though, you might make sure you have extra ingredients on hand for another batch.

This hot chocolate was rich and creamy and warmed me right down to my toes. It was delicious, and I wish it didn’t use so many fattening ingredients, or I would probably make it every day.

If you need something warm to scare the cold away this winter, definitely keep this recipe in mind. A nice, hot cup of hot chocolate is one of the best ways to erase cold weather blues.

Lindsey Young is managing editor of The Clarion, the Kansas Publishing Ventures newspaper in Andale. She can be reached at lindseyclarion@gmail.com.

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