Sparkle Kitchen: Stovetop Hot Chocolate
In this week’s Junkyard Tales story "Star Gazing", Ben gets an invitation to go to a stargazing party with the Rowlands. While it may seem backwards, winter is actually the best time of year for stargazing. In addition to longer nights, the colder, drier air in winter makes the stars appear to be more clear than they are in the summer time.
But, if you’re headed out to enjoy the night sky in the cold, warm clothes and drinks are essential. As to the later, nothing beats a steaming thermos of hot chocolate.
While you can buy all sorts of mixes and powders, of course, I’ve found that the simplest way of making hot chocolate is to melt dark chocolate chips with warm milk. It only takes a few minutes to do, and—in the winter months—standing over a warm stove is often a treat all by itself.
Whisking the hot chocolate at the end is optional, but it will make a hot chocolate more frothy and wonderful than you’ve ever tasted before!
Stovetop Hot Chocolate
(makes 1 serving, so increase the quantity if you’re having a party)
Ingredients
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips
Directions
Measure 1 cup of milk into a small saucepan, and add 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips. Heat the milk over medium, stirring or whisking until all the chocolate chips are melted.
To make your hot chocolate extra special, pull it off the heat and whisk hard for 60 seconds to really make it frothy. Pour into a thermos or mug to sip as you gaze at the crystal-clear winter night sky.
If you liked this recipe, here are others you might enjoy:
Not yet a subscriber? Try a free trial HERE.
About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
