by Diane Hoffmaster 4 Comments
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Last Updated on December 3, 2022 by Diane Hoffmaster
Life has been incredibly stressful lately, and that stress has been keeping me awake at night. I bet you know the feeling, right? Do budget issues, health concerns, and work deadlines seem to pop up in your brain the minute your head hits the pillow? Homemade hot chocolate to the rescue! When stress levels are high, this creamy lavender hot chocolate recipe is just the thing you need for a better night sleep!
Table of Contents
Tips for Making Homemade Hot Chocolate
Making homemade hot chocolate takes only a few minutes. It is also much cheaper and tastier than those mass produced packets you buy at the grocery store. However, the best hot chocolate starts from the best ingredients! Here are a few tips for making hot chocolate from scratch if you want a truly decadent experience:
- Use whole milk. Sure, low fat milk works okay. And almond milk and cashew milk are alright, too. However, for the truly best hot chocolate experience, I really think you need a full fat dairy product.
- Add real sugar. Don't try to cut calories by using a sugar substitute. It just won't taste the same. If you want a really unique hot chocolate, add brown sugar. If you use cocoa powder, you will need actual sugar in your recipe. With sweetened chocolate, you shouldn't need additional sugar.
- Find a good quality cocoapowder or start with real chocolate. Combine milk and dark chocolate for a nice balance of bold yet creamy.
- Add a pinch of salt. Salt balances the sugar in your hot chocolate recipe. You won't taste it, I promise!
- Give it a splash of vanilla extract. The combination of chocolate and vanilla will give your homemade hot cocoa a unique flavor.
- Make your own homemade whipped cream. Heavy cream and powdered sugar take only minutes to whip up into a homemade whipped cream. This lavender hot chocolate recipe is delicious but tastes SO much better with real whipped cream on top!
- Make it gourmet!Add a pinch of cinnamon and cayenne pepper for a Mexican hot chocolate recipe. Try making white hot chocolate instead of milk chocolate. The possibilities are endless. There are so many health benefits of hot chocolate that you should make yourself a mug every night!
Adding Lavender to Hot Chocolate
So, you want to make homemade hot chocolate, right? Why add lavender to it? Because lavender is a great way to get rid of stress and we ALL probably have too much of that in our lives! However, you need to make sure that you are using culinary lavender in your cooking. Or you can grow your own lavender in your garden, which I have also started doing. Just make sure whatever lavender you choose hasn't been treated with chemicals or had artificial scents added.
Can you use lavender essential oil in cooking? Yes, you can. However, lavender essential oil is MUCH stronger than culinary lavender. If you use it in this lavender hot chocolate recipe, use a VERY tiny amount. Otherwise, you will completely overpower the flavor of your homemade cocoa and all you will taste is lavender!
More Uses for Lavender:
- Lavender DIY Lip Scrubfor Soft, Kissable Lips!
- DIY Honey Lavender Bath Melts
- Sinus Bath Salts for Congestion Relief
Homemade Hot Chocolate Supplies
Making homemade hot chocolate can be as simple as warming the ingredients on the stove and pouring them in your mug. Or, you can get fancy and set up a hot chocolate bar for your next party. If you want to dive into the upscale hot chocolate craze, here are a few homemade hot chocolate supplies you may want to invest in:
- Hot Cocoa Comfort: 50 Recipes for Comforting Cups of Chocolate Make cocoa an everyday, year-round treat with these body- and soul-warming new takes!
- Gourmet Marshmallow Gift Box: These handmade marshmallows literally melt in your mouth!
- Stainless Steel Sifter:Great for flour, icing sugar, baking powder, cocoa and your other powdered ingredients quickly pass through.
- Decorative Stirring Spoons:8 different flower patterns of ice cream spoons/coffee spoons/tea spoons
Creamy Lavender Hot Chocolate Recipe
The only slightly time consuming part of making this lavender hot chocolate is giving the milk time to steep with the lavender buds. Plan ahead a bit so that you can really infuse the lavender flavor into your homemade cocoa. Then, just strain, heat, and serve! Lavender hot cocoa is relaxing and will have you in bed with sweet dreams in no time!
Yield: 2 servings
Creamy Lavender Hot Chocolate Recipe
When stress levels are high, this creamy lavender hot chocolate recipe is just the thing you need for a better night sleep!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon lavender dried, culinary-grade (plus extra for garnish)
- 4 oz premium chocolate (finely chopped)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the milk and lavender buds. Microwave on high for 3 - 4 minutes until milk is very hot. Let sit for 20 minutes.
- Chop the chocolate and add it to a small sauce pan. Strain the milk to remove the lavender and it pour over the chocolate. Add the pinch of salt.
- Stir the milk and chocolate together over medium heat until the chocolate has completely dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Pour the hot chocolate into two mugs.
- Top with homemade whipped cream and an additional sprinkle of dried lavender.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving:Calories: 524Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 277mgCarbohydrates: 42gSugar: 34gProtein: 21g
Diane Hoffmaster
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time. You can learn more about her HERE.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Tammy Karnik
I am thinking about making lavender hot cocoa bombs. Do you think it would work if I processed the lavender into a powder and added it to the hot cocoa mix?
Reply
Diane Hoffmaster
It might. You might also try to see if you can find lavender powder. Just make sure it is culinary grade.
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Melissa
This is the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. I love drinking lavender tea but to pair it with hot chocolate on a chili evening with creamy milk and vanilla. I used Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips because that's all I had on hand at the time. So delicious!
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Diane Hoffmaster
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Good chocolate really does make a difference!
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