Eating the Americas: Guatemalan Hot Cocoa

It has been difficult to keep up with this project when we're busy almost every night of the week! I'm reluctant to try new recipes when I'm rushed, or pick up ingredients that we don't usually have on hand when I'm not sure when/if we'll ever get to making the recipe that calls for them. Winter weather has dominated here lately, and somebody at our house has been dealing with a cold almost every day, so last week was a great time to try something very simple and comforting - Hot Cocoa, Guatemalan style.

The only thing I needed to buy that isn't normally found in my pantry was the Mexican cocoa bars. Around here, Nestle's Abuelita brand is found in the Latino foods section of almost any grocery store.

Making hot cocoa this way takes some extra time and patience, but we thought the results were worth it. I won't do this every time we feel like sipping a cup of hot cocoa, but do think that those cocoa bars WILL be stocked in my pantry more regularly so it's an option on any wintry night. Like tonight. It is cold and I think I'll be glad for a comforting hot drink when we get home from all our evening activities.

Here's the cocoa bars, just waiting for us to add the milk and cinnamon sticks.

To do this cocoa right, once the sugary chocolate is all dissolved in the cooked milk, you need to froth it up in the blender. Don't overfill the blender though - ask me how I know. :-/ I made a little bit of a mess with the first batch.

Frothy, chocolate-y, slightly cinnamon-y goodness. Thumbs up from the whole family.

Guatemalan Hot Cocoa (these amounts are for ONE serving)

1-2 ounces (go with TWO, trust me!) hot cocoa bar

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cinnamon stick

Heat the milk, cocoa, and cinnamon stick to a gentle simmer in a saucepan, stirring frequently, until all the chocolate is dissolved. Then whip with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender until it's frothy. Serve it up hot, with another cinnamon stick or some cinnamon sprinkled on top if you like.

This post is linked at Try a New Recipe Tuesday, hosted by Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos

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