Vegan Hot Chocolate
Happy December! Writing that freaked me out just a little bit. 2019 has really flown by so far and there’s no sign of it slowing down whatsoever. Holiday recipes are in full swing over here in The Hungry Hungry Hiker kitchen and what better way to kick off Christmas recipes than with classic hot chocolate?
As I explained a few months back in my Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate post, I only very recently started enjoying real hot chocolate. Can you believe that?! I don’t order hot chocolate when I go out to breakfast anymore because I know it’s just going to be that crappy “chocolate” powder mixed with hot water. In the words of Kevin McCallister, “SICKENING!” Have you watched Home Alone yet this year? Last week Mike and I went to Costco together. He had to use the restroom. I saw that Home Alone was playing on an 84″ flatscreen (necessary? I think not) so I told him to pick me up there when he was done. Home Alone is one of my favorites. Last year I skipped my 10 year high school reunion and sat on the couch in sweatpants watching Home Alone. I still don’t regret that decision one bit.
Surprisingly, Starbucks is a place that does hot chocolate the right way. Full fat milk, chocolate, and sugar. That’s really all you need to have a good time. There was a time last November that I wanted Starbucks hot chocolate constantly. Mike and I were going to Starbucks almost every single Saturday and Sunday so that I could get my hot chocolate fix. I finally had to cut myself off.
Now, for the most part, when I want hot chocolate I’ll make it myself and I don’t have to leave my apartment to do so. It’s quite nice. Since starting a mostly paleo blog I thought it might be nice to create a completely dairy-free hot chocolate recipe. It took some tweaking, but overall I’m happy with how it turned out. Due to the canned coconut milk it’s quite a bit thicker from what you’re probably used to, which means you might not be able to drink as much of it. First world problems, right?
We put our Christmas shrub up today! I call it a shrub because we are minimalists at heart and our Christmas “tree” is a ~4 foot tall tree that Mike’s mom gave us when we first moved in to our apartment. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on a tree. This is our third December in our apartment. I can’t believe we’ve been here so long already. We live very close to the historical part of our town. In the 1800’s and 1900’s, our town was a thriving mill town. The mill owners and managers built stately homes along the main street that are still standing and lived in to this day. This year, Mike and I have made plans to do a holiday walk down the historical street to see all of the nice houses decorated for the holidays. We will do so with travels mugs of this hot chocolate in hand! I can’t believe we’ve waited until this year to do this. If you don’t already, follow along on Instagram to share the holiday adventure with us!
Vegan Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
Method
- Add the canned coconut milk and the chocolate chips to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. When the chocolate has melted completely, add the carton nut milk and cinnamon. Increase the heat to medium high. Remove from heat just before the hot chocolate reaches a boil. Pour into a mug and serve warm!
