As we have been building our pantry and learning to cook from scratch, we have started to recreate our favorites guilty pleasures at home. We started taking items that had a list of crazy ingredients and trying to make them simpler and healthier. This Salted Hot Cocoa Mix is a game changer for us, it is delicious, and it is dairy and gluten free. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in hot cocoa?

What’s in your Hot Cocoa?

Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Whey, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Milk, Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- And Diglycerides, Natural Flavor. Allergens & Warnings: CONTAINS: MILK. Great Value has even more ingredients. You can find some decent organic ones but still they are pricey and have preservatives in them.

Why make your own?

The number one reason why I think it is beneficial to make your own hot cocoa mix is you get to control the ingredients. You can make smaller batches with items you have on hand in the pantry and you know what your eating or in this case drinking. I choose to use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder in our hot cocoa mix for a variety of reasons. I will share a few with you.

• Cacao vs. Cocoa Cacao is the fruit in its raw form before it’s ever processed. Cocoa is the powder made from cacao that you normally bake with. It’s flavor isn’t as bitter as raw cacao, but it has more sugar.
• Cacao is anti-inflammatory and can actually help lower blood pressure.
• Some research shows the flavonoids in cacao may also improve your insulin resistance or change the way your body metabolizes glucose if you already have diabetes or are prediabetic.
• Cacao powder provides: Iron, Phosphorus, Manganese, Magnesium, Potassium and Fiber

Now that I may or may not have sold you on the benefits of Cacao powder over cocoa powder let me tell you where you can get it. Then we will jump into the recipe.

THE CHRISTMAS KITCHEN – A GLUTEN-FREE HOLIDAY MADE EASY (E-BOOK)

$10.00

We love to make memories building gingerbread houses or frosting cookies to give away. Making homemade ornaments or simmer pots that make the house smell better than a candle store. We gather together as a family and make things together. All the while laughing, talking, remembering and most importantly opening our hearts to one another.…

Category: E-Books

Tags: Christmas, E-book, Gingerbread, Gluten Free, Recipes

Sourcing Bulk Ingredients

Most of my ingredients I try to source in bulk. I do enough cooking and baking from scratch that it is more cost effective for me to purchase in bulk. If you are interested in building your pantry on a budget, I highly suggest checking out Azure Standard. I can order from them once a month if I want to, which I don’t need to do that, and meet a semi-truck at a specific drop location. Everyone purchasing helps unload all the product for that drop and then we take our goods and head home. I have saved so much money this way. For example, the items I have in bulk for this recipe are: powdered sugar, cacao powder, salt, arrowroot powder, dry coconut cream powder all of which I get from Azure Standard.

If you have not started to purchase in bulk, I highly suggest taking the time to do a price comparison, especially on spices and flours, before jumping into your holiday baking. Now let’s get to the recipe…

Salted Hot Cocoa Mix

Jennifer Padilla

Our favorite hot cocoa mix! Plus it is Dairy and Gluten Free!

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Course Drinks

Servings 12

Calories 413 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 2 1/3 cup dry coconut cream powder
• 1 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Sift all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.
• Store in an airtight glass container.
• To use add 1/2 cup mixture to 1 cup hot water and stir.
• Top with peppermint whipped cream and enjoy.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 413kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 6gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.04gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 288mgPotassium: 137mgFiber: 3gSugar: 24gCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Cacao, Coconut Milk, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Hot Cocoa

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If you liked this recipe, you should check out a few of the other recipes and things we have posted. We will be launching new recipes and projects weekly so keep checking back to see what is new.