I love love LOVE the first snow fall of the season. Usually we get our first real snow around Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Every now and then we’ll get hit around Thanksgiving, but that’s rare. Any snow before the 3rd of January is fun. After that, forget it. It serves no purpose, unless the kids get a day off of school.
Back in the day, we’d wake up to the radio, fingers crossed, waiting for the announcer to get through the 30+ schools to see if ours has been canceled. Now we check for texts the night before. Typically, we have a ban on cell phones during dinner, except when there’s a chance of a snow day. If there is a chance of snow, we all have an ear out for that ding!
And nothing goes better with snow than hot cocoa and marshmallows. Oh yeah, and a roaring fire. Gotta have fire.
I like just about any hot chocolate. Totally not picky. But it is hard to beat a thick velvety cocoa made with heavy cream and melted chocolate.
Aside from that, I’m a firm believer that hot chocolate’s main reason for existence is to float marshmallows. It’s all about the fluff, man. I’ve posted my Keto Cocoa recipe below as well as a recipe for the Marshmallows (so easy!). If you’ve got a “To-Die-For” cocoa concoction, by all means, please share the love. But in the meantime, let’s stuff our face… I… I mean mugs with pillowy white mallows.
Next week’s post: Tortellini Soup
Keto Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 8 oz unsweetened baking chocolate chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 teaspoons Truvia*
- whip cream such as Redi Whip
- chocolate shavings optional
Equipment
- microwave safe bowl
- small sauce pot
- whisk
- vegetable peeler
Instructions
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Shave 1 tablespoon of chocolate with vegetable peeler and set aside.
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Put chocolate and 1/2 cup heavy cream into microwave safe bowl and microwave on high at 20 second intervals, stirring in-between, until chocolate is melted.
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Add chocolate and the rest of the ingredients to small sauce pot and turn heat to medium low.
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Whisk together until Truvia dissolves and everything is combined. Do not let it boil. Keep it on a low simmer or just steaming.
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Pour into 2 cups, top with whip cream, chocolate shavings, and serve.
Recipe Notes
*Truvia is a low glycemic sweetner made from a sugar alcohol derived from birch trees. Find it in your baking isle!
Homemade Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 3 packages of unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup water divided
- 12 oz sugar granular
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean seeds optional
- 1/4 powdered sugar
- 1/4 cornstarch
- Nonstick spray
Equipment
- candy thermometer
- medium saucepan
- stand mixer with whisk attachment
- baking sheet
- sifter
- spatula
- knife or pizza cutter
Instructions
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Sprinkle all the gelatin over 1/2 cup water in the bowl of the stand mixture and let it hydrate.
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In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve 12 oz granular sugar in 1/2 cup water.
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Add the syrup and salt and increase the heat and put in the candy thermometer. Stir constantly until the syrup mixture reaches 240ºF. Remove from heat.
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Let the syrup cool slightly and very slowly and very carefully pour it into the dissolved hydrated gelatin. Turn the stand mixer on low.
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Once all the syrup is in, increase the speed to high for 15 minutes until it is thick and white.
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Add vanilla extract and vanilla seeds and mix thoroughly.
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Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Sift together cornstarch and powdered sugar and heavily coat entire baking sheet.
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Spread marshmallow mixture onto baking sheet. Smooth surface with the back of a wet spatula.
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Dust the top with more powdered sugar and refrigerate over night un covered.
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On a surface dusted with powdered sugar and cornstarch, invert the baking sheet onto the surface. Marshmallows should come out easily.
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Use a sharp knife dusted with cornstarch or a pizza cutter to cut marshmallow into squares.