Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

So only a crazy man would cook a buffalo. (Yes. You. Read. That. Right.) Whole. (That means 875 pounds of bison on the hoof, 419 pounds dressed and butterflied.) Outdoors. On a spit. Over open flame. And invite 200 people to the party. At a place without walls or electricity. In the middle of De.CEM.Brrr. This would be the very definition of crazy.

So only a crazy woman in charge of everything at the party except the buffalo would decide to go easy on herself and make store-bought hot chocolate – but then check the ingredient list and change her mind. Now that’s crazy.

But it turns out, it wasn’t crazy at all. It was easy! I tested several hot chocolate recipes for one I loved, then adapted the recipe to conveniently serve a crowd.

In the warmth of my kitchen, I mixed the dry Hot Chocolate Mix in bags, just the right amount of mix for adding convenient gallon-size jugs of milk and water later. This made my homemade mix just as convenient as a commercial mix – but far less sweet and without all the processed ingredients.

We heated the hot chocolate in a 30-quart stockpot from an outdoor turkey fryer like this one – it heated up fast and kept the hot chocolate hot all afternoon long. Because a turkey fryer heats liquid so quickly, it took no time at all to mix a new batch when one ran out.

And let me assure you, chocolate-y less-sweet homemade hot chocolate hits the spot on what turned out to be a cold, blustery, gray but dry! December day!

So was Homemade Hot Chocolate for a crowd crazy? Maybe. But then again, maybe falling for the commercial food companies’ processed food is crazier still. Me, I’m sticking to my homemade hot chocolate. Maybe this recipe will make it easy for others to do so too.

ALANNA’s TIPS The Hot Chocolate Mix is rich enough, chocolate-y enough that I think you could easily double the water and milk for twice the volume without serving 'watery' hot chocolate. It’s hard to find hot-drink cups that are the right size – most are way too small or way too big. This matters because cup size makes a huge difference in estimating how many ‘servings’ a single batch will make. The bigger the cups, the more batches you’ll need. Even 'small' cups are 8.5 ounces big (a liquid cup is eight ounces). But many cups hold a full 16 ounces or two cups. I finally found six-ounce cups at a Wal-Mart Superstore. If you’d prefer to use evaporated milk instead of powdered milk, no problem. For the large batch, use eight 12-ounce cans, then add only 1 gallon of water. For the small batch, use two 12-ounce cans, then add only 4 cups of water. I had great luck with low-fat evaporated milk, another way to save a few calories.

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX as GIFTS Make a batch of the dry mix and distribute among glass jars or another container. Add a label that reads: "HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX For a hot cup of homemade hot chocolate, add a spoonful or two to a microwave-safe mug. Add a splash of hot water and stir well until smooth. Fill the mug with milk and stir again. Heat in the microwave about 30 seconds at a time, until hot. Stir in a splash of vanilla and a few mini marshmallows (optional). Recipe from KitchenParade.com."