Get warm and toasty with a mug of this super easy, super delicious homemade Chocolate Chip Hot Chocolate that’s smooth, creamy, sweet and wonderfully chocolaty. All you need is 5 minutes and a few simple ingredients!
Although I’m not a huge fan of the freezing-cold temperatures of winter up here in the northeast, I do love a beautiful snowfall, and I especially love this time of the year for the food…soups, stews and cozy drinks like hot chocolate. After a day of playing in the snow, there’s nothing better than sipping on this decadent treat!
When I was a kid, we would literally spend all day outside in the snow…by choice! My mom would bundle us up like Ralphie’s little brother in A Christmas Story, and out we went to build snowmen, igloos, make snow angels, and have snowball fights with our neighborhood friends.
Every couple of hours, we would come inside to warm up. Mom would make us some soup and hot chocolate, and then we would bundle back up and go right back outside again. Such good times!
As a grown-up, I don’t get to play in the snow as much anymore (shoveling is more often the task at hand), but I still love some hot chocolate on a chilly day after a long walk with the dog or while settling in with a good book or movie.
Instant hot chocolate from the packet? I’m just not a fan. To me, it always tastes watery and bland and not very chocolaty at all.
When it comes to hot chocolate, homemade is definitely the way to go. Besides, it only takes about five minutes, which isn’t much longer than using the packet, and the difference is incredible!
Homemade hot chocolate or hot cocoa made with cocoa powder is yummy, but sometimes – to me – the cocoa powder can be a bit…I’m not exactly sure of the word I’m looking for…bitter? sharp? strong? I like hot chocolate that is smooth, sweet, creamy, and chocolaty (but not overly so).
So I thought why not just melt some milk chocolate chips in milk and see how that tastes? Yep, it tastes good – really, really good – and you don’t even need to add extra sugar. It’s exactly the hot chocolate I want to drink!
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED:
- Whole milk
- Milk chocolate chips
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Optional toppings: whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate shavings
HERE’S A QUICK LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP HOT CHOCOLATE:
TIPS & TIDBITS:
- I prefer to use whole milk for the creaminess, but this is definitely an indulgent drink, so you could use reduced-fat milk or a non-dairy milk like almond milk to lighten it up a bit. On the other hand, if you want a really indulgent drink, you could use some half and half or cream to replace all or some of the milk.
- I think milk chocolate chips give this hot chocolate the perfect balance of sweet, smooth, and creamy. However, you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips if you’d rather or if that is all that you have on hand (you may just need to add some sugar to sweeten it up).
- Feel free to add more or less chocolate chips to suit your tastes!
- You just want to use a very teeny-tiny pinch of salt here to enhance the flavor of the chocolate, but you don’t actually want to taste the salt.
- Don’t boil the milk! In fact, you don’t even really want it to simmer. Doing so can cause the milk to burn or curdle, neither of which makes for a delicious hot chocolate. Keep it low, keep stirring, and stop when the milk is hot and the chocolate is melted.
- This recipe makes enough for one mug of hot chocolate. If you’re making two or more servings, just go ahead and increase the amount of the ingredients and use a bigger pot!
You can keep it simple and enjoy your hot chocolate as is, or you can top it with whipped cream (my favorite for a little extra creaminess!), marshmallows, and/or chocolate shavings. YUM!!!
This hot chocolate is quick, easy, delicious and so much better than anything you could ever get from a packet or powdered mix!
I hope you try this recipe for Chocolate Chip Hot Chocolate and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
Chocolate Chip Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup milk chocolate chips, about 2 ounces by weight
- tiny pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- desired toppings such as whipped cream, marshmallows, or chocolate shavings, optional
Instructions
- Place the milk, chocolate chips, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the milk is hot and the chocolate chips have melted. Do not let the milk come to a boil or even a simmer, as this can cause the milk to burn or curdle. Reduce the heat if you need to.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour into a mug, top with your favorite toppings (if desired), and enjoy!
Notes
- I prefer whole milk for the creaminess, but you could use reduced-fat milk or non-dairy milk such as almond milk for slightly lighter version. On the other hand, if you want a super decadent and indulgent drink, you could use half and half or cream to replace some or all of the milk.
- You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips if you prefer a less sweet hot chocolate or if that’s all you have on hand (you may need to add sugar to sweeten it up).
- Feel free to add more or less chocolate chips to suit your tastes.
- Estimated calories shown is for the hot chocolate only and does not include any additional toppings.
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Kiz
Awesome!!!
Can I share it?
Dwight F Schrute
This was amazing! I made it for my family and they all loved it! 5 stars!!
Michelle
Thank you!