Maple-Vanilla Hot Cocoa {with Homemade Marshmallows}

It’s just after sunset on a chilly fall evening. You’ve only got about 50 pages left in your latest literary addiction; so you cozy into the corner pillows of the couch, pulling your tattered childhood quilt over your lap. As you flip to the dog-eared page in your book with one hand, you reach the other for the steaming mug sitting on a tray to your left. You sigh as the smooth, chocolatey cream crosses your lips with notes of sweet maple and vanilla. Life is good.

In lieu of my recent “date night ideas” post, I thought I’d share with you my recipe for maple-vanilla hot cocoa. Because, as wonderful as the scenario above is, it is equally as wonderful to share a steaming mug of maple-vanilla hot cocoa with your love. Or better yet, simply share your heart over two mugs of said cocoa… and top them with a few homemade marshmallows while you’re at it.

Maple-Vanilla Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup – 100% pure, grade B (may add more/less to preferred sweetness)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat milk over low-medium heat in a medium saucepan.
2. Add maple syrup and vanilla.
3. Place cocoa in a small bowl and add several tablespoons of the warm milk to dissolve the cocoa. (This will help keep the cocoa from forming lumps when added to the rest of the milk.)
4. Add cocoa/milk mixture to the rest of the milk. Stir until completely mixed and milk is steaming & beginning to bubble on the sides of the pan.
5. Pour into your favorite mug and top with a handful of homemade marshmallows. (I’m a big fan of this recipe). Enjoy!

This recipe is also a great gift (I made it for a dear friend’s birthday this weekend). Simply cool down the cocoa and package it in a glass jar with some fun fabric and a few strands of yarn – just make sure to keep it on ice when you deliver it! You can also add a plastic bag of the homemade marshmallows.

Which, if the idea of making your own marshmallows intimidates you a little (I know it did me)… I took a few photos of the process and am posting them below to aid in your efforts. Feel free to use them as a guide alongside the recipe!

This is the first step in the process after softening your gelatin. You combine the water, honey, and vanilla in a saucepan and allow to boil until it reaches 240 degrees (soft ball temperature). Word to the wise: use a BIG saucepan because this stuff boils like crazy. I had to switch pans during the process once, and then use a spatula to pop bubbles constantly to keep things from boiling over. Watch it like a HAWK!

Once your honey mixture reaches 240 degrees, you will slowly add it to the softened gelatin with your mixer on low. Once added, you’ll turn the mixer on high and let it do its thing until the mixture has a nice “fluffy” marshmallow creme texture. (In this photo it is still a little runny.)

Here the mixture has whipped up very nicely and is ready to go into your greased & parchment papered pan. Don’t feel guilty if you want to use your finger to sample the marshmallow creme at this point… it’s quite delicious!

Before you transfer the mixture to your pan, you can choose to line the bottom with any coating that you’d prefer (graham cracker/cookie crumbs, coconut, etc.) I chose to use a bit of unsweetened, shredded coconut. Once you transfer the marshmallow creme to your pan… you just need to spread it out (you can make it smooth with a greased spatula, or leave it with a “cloud” texture, which I did) and press another sheet of parchment paper on top. Stick in the fridge overnight (or for several hours) to allow the marshmallows to fully set.

Remove your marshmallows from the fridge and use the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut them into your desired size/shape (you could even try a good metal cookie cutter here for fun shapes!) ENJOY!

*This post has been shared on Cooking Traditional Foods and Too Many Jars in My Kitchen.

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