Candy Cane Cocoa

Up front I want to say that this is just my dairy-free, kid-friendly version of an already great recipe. You can find the original at Clumbsy Cookie under Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate. Her inspiration for this recipe came from a suitcase full of broken candy canes. My reason is the mug of candy canes that have been staring at me, softly calling "eat us" since Christmas. The pluses were I knew my milk allergic son would love to make this and the dairy-free versions of hot cocoa mix leave something to be desired.

The preparation did not disappoint. Have you ever heard candy canes in a food processor? My son loved it! The chocolate chips didn't make quite as much racket but stirring the big bowl of chocolaty smelling powder was a great activity for him. The resulting hot cocoa was rich, chocolaty with just a hint of mint. I snuck in a teaspoon of espresso powder in mine per the original recipe and it was even better! If you want to go all out, get this cheapo milk frother from Ikea and you'll have a nice mound of foam on top. My son uses this tool all the time to make chocolate milk, chase the cats, etc.

Candy Cane Cocoa Mix
An adaption of the Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate recipe from Clumbsy Cookie
Makes ~2 cups

6 candy canes, unwrapped and broken
100 grams (~1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) chocolate (I used dairy-free chocolate chips)
1 cup soy milk powder (or other powdered milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder

-Place the candy canes in a food processor or blender and process into a powder. Place in a medium bowl (large if you are having a child mixing). **Please use your best judgement as to the appropriate age of children working the food processor. Those blades are sharp and the candy cane noise will get them all riled up.
-Process the chocolate into fine crumbs, pulsing so that they don't start to melt. Add the processed chocolate to the candy cane powder.
-Add the other ingredients to the bowl and stir together with a whisk. Store the mixture in a jar.
-Use one tablespoon per 8 ounces of hot milk (Silk Enriched Omega-3 for us). Stir with a spoon or mix with a milk frother.


I'm adding this to Bookmarked Recipes, an event started by Ruth's Kitchen's Experiments. Visit her site for the roundup of other bookmarked and tested recipes. And give some of your saved recipes a try and post about them!