Now that the weather’s getting cooler (finally!), I’m finding myself craving warm, comfort drinks, such as hot chocolate, chai lattes, and all of those tempting holiday drinks that Starbucks is advertising!
So last night, while Austin was enjoy a Peppermint Mocha Frappaccino in front of me, I made a quick and healthy, dairy-free version of hot chocolate, that I’d like to share:
To start, add 1 cup of Almond Milk (I like Pacific brand) to a small saucepan over high heat:
Add 1 tablespoon of pure Maple Syrup:
And 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s).
Stir constantly, to mix and heat throughout. You might have to break up the little clumps of cocoa powder as you stir.
Here it is all mixed together:
Once the hot chocolate is mixed and heated to your liking, simply pour in a mug and enjoy!
Obviously, I didn’t like mine at all: 
Note: This recipe makes a RICH hot chocolate– I use a LOT of cocoa powder, because when I started making this a few years ago, I was not accustomed to the flavor of almond milk. The flavor of cocoa powder hides that other flavor for me, and is a great start when serving others who are not used to almond milk, either. If you like a milder-tasting hot chocolate, just reduce the cocoa powder as necessary.
For those of you concerned with food combining, this is a great NEUTRAL dessert!Enjoy!
To avoid lumpy cacao I always put a small amount of water or milk into the cold pan with the cacao powder FIRST. Stir well till smooth, then add remaining milk and other yummy stuff and heat through. Easy!