Like all of you, I love the experience of Starbucks. I've never had a cup of coffee (don't feel sorry for me, I don't even like the smell), but I do like their hot chocolate.
Starbucks no longer gives you a nice cup unless you ask. Why pay the price they charge just to get a drink in a paper cup? And, frankly, the last couple of drinks I bought weren't that good. Too watery.
I decided to make our own Starbucks. I bought two of their mugs and got out my electric kettle.
The electric kettle sits on a heating pad and shuts off automatically when it reaches boiling. The English lady at a tea shop I used to go to highly recommended it. She said to raise it up high and pour so that it aerates the water.
I used Swiss Miss no-sugar-added mix, Nesquik syrup (the only one I've found that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup) and a can of whip.
Why use no-sugar-added? Because I was going to drizzle chocolate syrup on and wanted to reduce un-needed sugar.
There are many homemade recipes for cocoa mix in blog land. I'm sure it would be cheaper still if I had used one of those, but this was quicker.
Starbucks here charges about $4 for a grande hot chocolate. A cup of homemade comes in under $1.50 a cup. Plus, I got to use a real cup. I don't mind washing dishes.
That looks really delicious! I love a cup of hot chocolate in the afternoons myself. I find coffee in the afternoon bothers my stomach and makes me feel flushed {so I limit it to the mornings only}. It's a great pick-me-up in the afternoon and is like a snack to me. We also have an electric tea kettle. I don't think we'd go back to a stove top one at this point.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say that it's about 100 calories and very filling. So subsituting as a snack like you said is within most guidelines.
DeleteBravo. I've never used a hot chocolate mix, I seem to need to use real milk, but other than that I agree $4 in a paper cup is not so hot.
ReplyDeleteI have the electric - a gift from my husband who lived in fear of me burning down the house. It's great.
ReplyDeleteI like homemade hot cocoa - the bitterness of the chocolate reminds me of my grandmother. Not that she was bitter - it's just a treat she used to make for us when I spent the night.
I'm with you about the coffee. Never have had a cup, but when it comes to hot chocolate, that's another thing! My hubby grinds coffee beans and I have him emptying the filters of the grinds and rinsing them off and drying them out so I can make one of those coffee filter wreaths!
ReplyDeleteSwiss Miss and low fat cool whip is my favorite snack on a cold windy day like today!
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