"hot cocoa" news and stories

Have you been down the aisle of the supermarket where hot chocolate mixes live lately? We have, and were flabbergasted by the sheer number of brands, flavors and cacao origins that have popped up over the years. What else could we do? It was time for a hot chocolate taste test.

More than 50 brands began piling up on our desks -- we purchased every supermarket brand we could find in the tri-state area, along with best-selling brands in major stores like Williams-Sonoma and Crate and Barrel, to boutique shops that sell their cocoas online.

To be fair, all cocoas were tested to their exact instructions -- whether that be in a microwave or over the stove and made with water or milk. As an editor's note, when we tested mixes with milk, we used skim milk.

After the jump, our top eight cocoas in the following categories: Best spicy, white chocolate, flavored with milk, best instant with water, best instant with water and marshmallows, best chocolate mint, best classic and best expensive brand cocoas.

Luxurious and creamy, homemade hot cocoa is a step up from the instant powder we turn to so often during the winter months.

Inspired by a main character in a book who ordered hot chocolate at a ski chalet, the author of this recipe heated half and half until it started to boil then poured it over broken pieces of dark chocolate. Chocolate shavings top this decadent brew. While not as "instant" as its counterpart, the velvety texture of the chocolate mixed with the milk are well worth the wait.

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Cocoa may come in many flavors on the shelf, but making it yourself releases the true flavor.

Winter has made a comeback in the Northeast today. We're supposed to get 8 to 10 inches in my area, so I'm in one of those "hot chocolate, read a book, watch some DVDs on the couch" sort of moods, so I thought I'd post a hot chocolate recipe.

But this isn't just for one cup of hot chocolate, it's a mix you can store so you don't have to keep making one cup at a time. I've been meaning to try the recipe that Tyler Florence made on one of his holiday shows on Food Network a while back but I haven't. This one comes from Epicurious.com and it has a hint of vanilla (or maybe it's more than a hint, who knows). It makes 24 servings.

It's really chilly here in the Northeast. I love the cold weather, it's just that the first big chill of the season can be shocking, especially since we had such an oddly warm October. This is the first time I had to turn on the heat this fall.

So how about some hot chocolate? Having a nice hot mug of hot chocolate on a cold evening is one of the great things in life. Here's a recipe for Easy Mexican Hot Chocolate (which includes cinnamon and chili powder) and here's one for Avenue' S Hot Chocolate (though I've never had Valrhona chocolate). Here's one that uses coffee from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and Jamie Oliver has one he calls The Best Hot Chocolate. I wanted to try this recipe for Hot Cocoa and Homemade Marshmallows from Tyler Florence last year but didn't. I'll correct that this holiday season (though I have to admit I'll probably go with packaged marshmallows or Fluff instead of making my own).