Who Doesn’t Love Hot Cocoa?

Unless you don’t like chocolate (and who doesn’t?!), most everyone loves a hot cup of cocoa. Kids love it. Adults love it. And, you can dress it up or down, make it fancy or keep it simple.

Saturday, December 12, is National Cocoa Day and no camping trip would be complete without a good supply of hot cocoa. Hot cocoa is a must have for cold, winter weather, but it’s also great on a chilly spring morning or a crisp fall evening. It’s even a good way to start the day in the middle of July.

Hot cocoa can be made from scratch or you can grab a packet of the instant stuff and just add hot water. If you’re making cocoa from scratch, remember to add just a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor.

So, how do you spice up or, for the adults, spike your hot cocoa?

Marshmallows and Whipped Cream have to top the list. They are the classic toppings. If you are a marshmallow fan, they come in flavors and multiple sizes for more options.

Make a s’mores cocoa with Marshmallows and crushed Graham Crackers (pictured).

Melt a crushed up Candy Cane or an Andes Mint in your hot cocoa for a minty twist. My daughter has recently started doing this and loves it.

Stir in some Caramel sauce.

Add a dash of Cinnamon for a Latin twist.

Add some Almond Extract or Vanilla Extract.

Mash up a bit of Banana. It might make for some chunks and floaties but you can spoon those out and eat them!

How about using Coconut Milk in place of regular milk?

Melt some Peanut Butter in your hot cocoa or stir in some PB2 powdered peanut butter.

Add a flavored creamer, like Hazelnut or melt some Nutella in your hot cocoa.

Melt in some White Chocolate or, if you make your hot cocoa from scratch, use White Chocolate or Dark Chocolate instead of regular chocolate.

For the adults in the crowd, try adding a shot of Amaretto or Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua or Crème de Cacao to your hot cocoa. Makes a perfect nite cap at the evening campfire.

In addition to the Crème de Cacao, add some Peppermint Schnapps and Crème de Menthe for a peppermint patty style cocoa.

For an almond joy, use Coconut Milk and add Crème de Cacao and Amaretto.

Grand Marnier makes for super-sophisticated, orange and chocolate cocoa.

We hope you’ll give some of these a try and have some fun experimenting. And, feel free to mix and match. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

If you like this blog and don’t want to miss a single post, subscribe to Chuck Wagoneer by clicking on the Follow Us button in the upper right corner and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates and more stuff!

15 Ways to Spice or Spike Your Hot Cocoa

Today, December 12, is National Cocoa Day and we couldn’t go camping without a supply of hot cocoa in our food tote. Not much beats it on a crisp spring morning or a chilly fall evening. Even in the middle of July, the kids love to start the day with a cup of hot cocoa. I usually throw a shot of coffee in mine and a little hazelnut creamer or—wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

How do you like to spice up your hot cocoa? Below is a list of all the possibilities we could think of (some for everyone and some just for adults).

Marshmallows have to top the list, but did you know they make flavored marshmallows? We’ve seen chocolate and strawberry flavored, but there may be others.

Melt a Candy Cane or an Andes Mint in your hot cocoa for a minty twist.

Stir in some Caramel sauce.

Add a dash of Cinnamon.

Add some Almond Extract or Vanilla Extract.

Mash up a bit of Banana. It might make for some chunks and floaties but you can spoon those out and eat them!

How about using Coconut Milk?

Melt some Peanut Butter in your hot cocoa.

Add a flavored creamer, like Hazelnut or melt some Nutella in your hot cocoa.

Melt in some White Chocolate or, if you make your hot cocoa from scratch, use white chocolate instead of regular chocolate.

And, hot chocolate isn’t just for kids. For the adults in the crowd, try adding a shot of Amaretto or Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua to your hot cocoa. Makes a perfect nite cap at the evening campfire.

We hope you’ll give some of these a try and have some fun experimenting (says my inner evil mad scientist). And, feel free to mix and match. For example, add coconut milk and almond extract and you’ll have Almond Joy Cocoa! My sister likes to make her cocoa using white chocolate and amaretto.

So did we miss anything? Celebrate National Cocoa Day and please share your own crazy concoctions in the Comments.