Capital Hot Chocolate

Day 1 of our week long Hunger Games series :) T minus 5 days & counting until the release of the first Hunger Games DVD

Click here and here to see Day 2.
Click here to see Day 3.
Click here to see Day 4.
Click here to see Day 5.

OK guys, I know its August and a million degrees outside BUT hot chocolate is the perfect thing to start off our Hunger Games week! After all, Katniss tried it for the first time when she went to the capital AND if Katniss can volunteer as tribute for her sister, we can drink a little hot chocolate when its hot outside. Besides, once you taste this homemade chocolaty goodness you will never go back to that nasty powdered hot chocolate ever again! This recipe is a slight variation from the Hersey's hot chocolate recipe.

This can be made in a family size version or a single serve version. I'll give you recipes for both. :)

Ingredients (makes 6 servings):
1/4 cup Hersey's Cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
Dash of salt
1/3 cup HOT water
4 cups milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

To start off, mix you cocoa, sugar and salt together in a sauce pan (make sure it's big enough to accommodate the rest of your ingredients!). Stir in your water and heat on medium heat until the mixture boils. DO NOT crank up your heat to try and get this step done faster, it will burn your sugar! Once the mixture is boiling, heat it for an additional 2 minutes while stirring it often. It should look something like this while boiling:

Next, stir in your milk. Continue to heat and stir occasionally until hot BUT DO NOT boil your mixture once you add the milk. To know if you milk is hot you can hold your hand about half an inch over the mixture. If you can feel the heat coming off, its hot. You can also tell by looking at it. There should be a white foam on top when it gets hot that looks like this:

Once your cocoa mixture is hot, remove from heat and add in the vanilla. The vanilla is what makes this recipe SOOOOOOO good. Finally, pour hot cocoa into individual cups and enjoy! You won't regret your choice to indulge in one of the capital's signature drinks!

Single serve directions in the microwave:

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Hersey's Cocoa
Dash of salt
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a large mug. Add in your milk and stir (your mixture will be very lumpy but stir it up as much as possible. Heat your mixture in the microwave on HIGH for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes (or until hot). Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla.

Happy cooking and may the odds be ever in your favor!

What Hunger Games recipes would you most like to see? What are you most looking forward to about the movie? Let us know in the comments section below!