Quarantine Hot Cocoa
If a five-year-old plays outside when it’s cold, he’s going to want some hot cocoa. If you make the hot cocoa according to the directions, he will complain it’s too hot. If you tell him to blow on it, it will still somehow be too hot. If you tell him to be patient and wait for it to cool down, he’ll get distracted and find something else to do and forget about it until his 9-month-old brother pulls himself up and yanks the cup off the table, covering himself in a lukewarm sticky chocolate mess which the dog will then beat me to. SOOOO if your five-year-old wants some hot cocoa, you perfect your non-cooking quarantine hot cocoa recipe for kids.
Quarantine Hot Cocoa for Kids
The proper way to make hot cocoa for small children that is not "too hot". This recipe makes two perfect-temperature teacups worth of hot cocoa. Definitely serve with saucers – it's "fancy" and it catches sticky drips.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk or water to heat (whatever you use to prepare the mix)
- 1 pouch hot cocoa mix (I just buy Kroger brand)
- 1/2 cup cold milk or water
- marshmallows for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Gather your ingredients.
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In the microwave, heat 1 cup of milk (or water) for 1 min 30 sec.
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In a separate mixing container, pour pouch of hot cocoa mix (whatever an individual serving is) and add hot milk, whisking until smooth.
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Pour equal amounts into two teacups. Top off teacups with cold milk.
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Add marshamallows if you choose (exactly equal numbers for each child or there will be problems) and serve. This is exactly the desired temperature for preschoolers.
Your children can then enjoy their hot cocoa while watching If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on Amazon Prime. Or Frozen 2 on Disney+. Or episodes of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Or Mr. Rogers if you’re still trying to educate your kids. When I have to work from home and the weather is yucky, this is the epitome of both my cooking and my parenting for some afternoons…enjoy your quarantine hot cocoa!
Disclaimer
I call this quarantine hot cocoa, but it can be enjoyed when we are all released from our homes again. But perhaps whatever food you make regularly during this #alonetogether phase may not want to be food you ever eat again.
TBT: “The Hot Cocoa Episode”
When Hubster and I were first married we lived in a one-bedroom apartment near his army base. We had been gifted some fancy Starbucks hot chocolate mix in pretty decorative tins. I got out a package to make some, and grasping the top of the plastic bag, I shook it to get ready to open it.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten it was already open, on the other end. This is what I did:
It went EVERYWHERE. Under the burners. Inside the cabinet hinges. Into the toaster. If I recall, we hadn’t even lived there long enough to own a vacuum, so I decided to clean it up in a truly logical fashion: with wet paper towels. Which of course just dissolved and liquefied the mix so it spread even further – down the stove sides, inside drawers…it was one of the biggest messes I have accomplished to date.
I have never claimed to be much of a cook. Hubster is far more accomplished and ambitious in the kitchen. Images like the above are the reason why I generally stay out of it, unless I have to because, like, I need to feed my kids or something.
Feel free to share your favorite kid-friendly quarantine creative recipes!
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