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Warm up with hot chocolate in crockpot

It’s sledding season! We’re finally experiencing snow with temperatures that don’t hurt your face to go outside.

If you have little ones in your house or family, or if you just really like sledding, then you probably have plans to do this at least once this season.

Or maybe you’ll go ice skating, or walk through the Wal-Mart parking lot when it’s negative 10 degrees.

All of these occasions call for one thing; hot cocoa.

When you’re shivering and just need to warm up from being out in the cold, you’re going to want something warm.

A lot of people will go for tea or coffee, which may be considered by some to be the “adult” choice.

Sometimes you just need to act like a kid, though. This is one of those times!

Does anyone remember that Campbell’s soup commercial with the snowman that melts down into a little bit as he sips on his chicken noodle soup?

That was some effective marketing.

I still think of that commercial, 20 years later, when coming in from being outside and feeling the need to defrost.

Something about that commercial always made me want that soup even though I didn’t like it.

I’m not saying that I want this article to make you want to have hot cocoa if you don’t like it.

I promise that was not the intention of my bringing up that old commercial.

There’s just something about it that perfectly sums up that feeling of warming up after being in the blustery outdoors.

Especially during January through February in Western New York.

Last weekend we had spent a bit of time outside. It honestly wasn’t even that long, it just happened to be during that windchill below zero degrees timeframe.

We needed something to warm up, and I had been wanting to try one of these simple recipes that I had seen floating around Pinterest.

After scouring Pinterest for a while, with no clear winner, I decided to make my own.

With a simple list of ingredients in simple measurements.

The nice thing about these kid of crockpot recipes is that you can always add a bit more to taste while they are in the crockpot.

The second wonderful thing about crockpot recipes is the smell. You can also smell things in the oven, but the crockpot makes that wonderful scent last all day.

This recipe is not very sweet, which makes it the perfect template for adding mix ins. Peanut butter, candy canes, caramel, peppermint extract, etc.

You can also substitute milk for a richer flavor, or add more liquid to serve more people.

Ingredients

1 c evaporated milk

5 c hot water

1/2 semi sweetened chocolate chips

1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 granulated sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Stir all ingredients together in the crockpot, making sure the chocolate chips are covered in liquid.

Otherwise, they will get stuck to the bottom and make for messy cleanup later.

Heat on low for 2-3 hours. Serves 6 people.

As always, thanks for reading! Happy sledding season from hbk!

Katy Wise is a Fredonia resident.

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