It was a mellow Christmas at our house this year. Bitterly cold and windy outside, we were happy to hunker down inside and enjoy a quiet day by ourselves. On a whim after I’d washed up the dinner dishes I decided to make us some hot cocoa. The result was a rich, frothy, decadent tasting treat. The surprise, it only tastes decadent. It’s actually fairly healthy as these things go.
Ingredients
Makes 3 cups
2 ½ cups non-dairy milk
8 Deglet Noor dates (or 4 Mejool)
2 ½ Tablespoons raw cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small cinnamon stick
Vegan marshmallows, optional
Method
Put non-dairy milk, dates, cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a blender bowl and puree at high speed, until you have a smooth mixture. A high-powered blender works best for this. If you don’t have one, soak the dates in the milk for about an hour to soften them before pureeing.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, add the cinnamon stick and heat on medium stirring often to prevent sticking. Heat to just barely a soft boil. Remove the cinnamon stick, pour into cups,
float a vegan marshmallow or two on the surface if you like.
Enjoy!