A review of Mary Younkin’s Barefeet in the Kitchen recipe

There are many ways to warm up while walking across campus in the winter season, but one of the most delicious ways is hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is a sweet and simple drink to soften the bite of the cold.

For most of my life, I have heated water and mixed in a single serving package to make hot chocolate. I wanted to attempt to make homemade hot chocolate this time, however, and I decided to use a recipe by Mary Younkin, who blogs about food on her website, Barefeet in the Kitchen.

I chose the recipe because it looked simple and because it included semi-sweet chocolate chips on the ingredient list. Chocolate chips are one of my great weaknesses, and this recipe provided an excellent excuse to purchase a bag. The best part is that the recipe only calls for three tablespoons of chocolate chips, so you will have plenty left over for several sweet tooth fixes.

This recipe not only included milk to make it deliciously creamy, but it also consisted of easy measurements because every ingredient measured is in three tablespoons. Plus, you only need to use one measuring spoon and one measuring cup. The simple measurements also make it harder to mess up this recipe. If you enjoy this recipe and want to make it on a regular basis, you can easily remember the directions without having to look them up again and again.

When I first started looking at the recipe, I had a couple dilemmas due to a lack of ingredients that made me realize that planning ahead for this recipe is important. Keep in mind, when you run out of ingredients or do not have the recommended ones, you can substitute them for something similar. For instance, the recipe calls for granulated sugar, but a good substitute was powdered sugar. Plus, Betty Crocker recommends substituting 1 ¾ cup of powdered sugar for every cup of granulated sugar.

Here is the recipe, adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen:

Simple Homemade Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

2 cups of milk (of your choice; I used whole milk)

3 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa

3 tablespoons sugar (or powdered sugar)

3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Younkin instructed in the recipe to, “Whisk together the sugar and cocoa in the bottom of a small saucepan. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is almost simmering. When the mixture is hot, add the chocolate chips and stir to melt. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows. Enjoy!”

The directions seem short, so through trying the recipe I was able to find additional tips to make the hot chocolate the best you’ve ever tasted.

• The sugar and cocoa mix may not combine with the milk right away. The mixture will appear to rest on top of the milk. That’s perfectly OK. Keep stirring occasionally, and it will become a smooth mixture as it cooks.
• Beware of splashing when you add the chocolate chips.
• It’s difficult to get all of the chocolate chips to melt completely.
• If you follow this recipe exactly, you can either fill two larger mugs or three small mugs.
• The reduced amount of powdered sugar works just fine.
• This recipe could not be easily adapted for a microwave; it is best for stovetop.

This homemade hot chocolate is warm and rich, almost like dark chocolate. The creaminess from the whole milk means you’ll feel less of the need to make yourself another cup. If you prefer a lighter hot chocolate, this recipe may not be for you.

Although there is something special about making hot chocolate from scratch, it may not be worth the extra cost. Also, because the recipe takes at least 20 minutes to make from start to finish, you won’t be cold anymore by the time it’s ready. Unless you want to indulge yourself with a deeper, delicious hot chocolate or impress someone with your cooking skills, I would recommend sticking with the stir-in packets.