This past weekend my husband Clif had an actual Saturday off from work so we thought it would be a good idea to spend an hour on Saturday morning bundling up the kids in snowsuits, coats, warm hats, mittens and snow boots to take them all sledding. If you have kids, you know how much work is involved in getting out the door once cold weather hits. Somedays it’s just no fun at all but if our agenda is to head to our nearest giant snow-laden hill than we are cool with it. This was our first sledding adventure this winter if you can believe it. We finally had a big snowfall here in Illinois last week and the snow was just perfect for sledding and building snowman.
Before we headed out the door I made my favorite hot chocolate in my crockpot so when we came back from our snowy day out it would be ready and waiting for us to warm up our bellies. I don’t know about you but my kids immediately ask for hot chocolate the minute they come in from playing out in the cold. If you have never made hot chocolate in a crockpot you must! It is so nice to come home and have a warm cup of chocolatey goodness just waiting for you after you spent a good 20 minutes getting everyone out of their snow gear…just one less thing to do!
I love this recipe because it makes really creamy hot chocolate and it used 3 types of chocolate so the (pregnant) chocolate lover in me is satisfied. I hope you love it too and make some before your next cold-weather gathering!
Crockpot Hot Chocolate
Recipe Type: Beverages
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
This recipe fits perfectly in a mini crockpot!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp white chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
- whipped cream
- mini chocolate chips for serving
Instructions
- Combine the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt together in your crockpot.
- Add in the milk and vanilla and whisk everything together until smooth and well-combined.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, add in the heavy cream, white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Stir until chips are melted.
- After about 10 minutes, pour into mugs and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips.
First up, grab 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder and add it to your crockpot. I used my little ‘mini’ crockpot, the one you usually use for warm dips, I find it is just perfect for this recipe.
Then add in 1/3 cup of white granulated sugar.
And a 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Add the vanilla and pour in 3 cups of milk, any variety will do although the more milk fat the creamier your hot chocolate will be…and more fattening…but hey, this is hot chocolate and it is winter so it’s worth it! I personally like to go with 1% as we will be adding in heavy cream a bit later 😉
Grab your whisk and whisk all that goodness up….Yum! Place the cover back on your crockpot and cook on LOW for about 2 hours. Now, go sledding!
After 2 hours your hot chocolate will look a little like this…frothy on top!
Now go ahead and pour in 1 cup of heavy cream…
And add in your tablespoon each of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Who’s hips are getting fat just thinking about this?
Stir it all up until those chips are melted. Wait about 10 minutes for the cream to warm up a bit and then ladle it out dude.
I love serving it with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips, my kids love it this way. I think it has to do with the thought of more candy getting into their bellies. Of course whatever your favorite toppings and add-ins you enjoy are perfect too.
Mmm…one for me and one for you.
Enjoy….and stay warm out there!
XOXO,
I’ve always wondered how to make homemade hot chocolate. I’ll be doing this for my kids on Wednesday! And by kids, I mean college students. 😉
You make that look waaay too yummy! 🙂
This looks so good. I have made the kind of hot chocolate you stir up and simmer in a saucepan with cocoa, sugar and milk, and that’s far better than the little envelopes — but this, now this looks amazing! I will have to be trying this for my grandchildren and for friends.
Yum! That is perfect for a mini crockpot and a snowy day. 🙂
OMG this looks delicious! I so want to make some now! Yum!
Natalie
http://www.projectdowhatyoulove.wordpress.com
This looks fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing!
Mmmm winter goodness!! Sounds SOOO very good!!
http://www.northerncottage.net
Hi there! I’ve been reading your blog for a couple months now and realized I’ve never commented to tell you how much I love your blog and all your fun ideas! I live just a little bit north of you in a suburb of Milwaukee. Anyway, thanks for your awesome blog and I can’t wait to try this recipe out;)
This recipe looks so good! Last time I made hot chocolate I just warmed up some chocolate milk… That counts right?? I hear ya on how hard it is to get outside when it is cold!! This year I decided to go outside every day, even when it’s cold. It sooo hard to get my kids dressed and out there, but then they never want to come back in, even when it’s super cold! 🙂 Of course, we miss days here and there, sometimes it is just TOO cold.
Love that you are labeling your pics. Makes it perfect for Pinterest!
ooh this sounds delicious! Going to give it a try, if ever we get any snow this season!! LOL
This sounds so delish! I want one right now on this rainy day…
When do you put in the vanilla? Its listed as an ingredient, but there is never a step to put it in.
Add the vanilla in with the milk in the beginning steps! Sorry about that…edited and fixed now!
Someone linked me to your no bake energy bites earlier (which are delicious, by the way). now i find this (and a bunch of other things that look awesome but i haven’t looked at yet)
this is my new favorite special place. i love you.
and all these other recipes for warm wintry things! it makes me wish i’d found out about this place a couple of months ago. our winter is already over (i live in alabama) not that we had very much of one this year anyway. we did have a snow day in jan/feb last year – i went out to my favorite parks/woods and spent the morning taking pictures. this would have been perfect to come home to!
I was looking for a crock pot hot chocolate recipe for my chocolate party next month. This recipe looks great! I love the idea of adding white chocolate and the chocolate chips on top 🙂
I just made this for my little girls 1st birthday party and it was a HUGE hit with everyone! It’s so easy to make and absolutely delicious!!! Thanks for posting the recipe!