With the cooler weather coming soon, I'm starting to think about warm food and beverages. At our last family meeting my boys expressed an interest in incorporating more traditional Mexican meals at our weekly family cooking nights. I told them about visiting my grandparents in Mexico during my school Christmas vacation and that my grandmother would wake up every morning at 5 a.m., start a fire and make hot chocolate for me and my sister.
I didn't really grow up in a traditional family, but I can still recall this favorite family recipe. You can make it for your children or have them help you. Older kids can help stir the mixture, and younger children can help serve and add mix-ins.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own Mexican hot chocolate:
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 20 oz whole milk (or your milk of preference). I have made it with Soy milk in the past for my youngest who is allergic to whole milk and it tastes just as delicious.
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Abuelita chocolate tablet -This item is usually located near the coffee and tea at the grocery store
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Marshmallows (optional)
- Cool whip (optional)
Here’s how to make it:
In a sauce pan, boil the milk with the cinnamon stick and vanilla. After bringing it to a , take out the cinnamon stick. Then add the evaporated milk and the chocolate tablet. Stir until the tablet completely dissolves. You can serve it as is or with marshmallows and cool whip on top. Or you can even blend it with ice and to create a scrumptious ice-blended treat.
My grandmother always baked a variety of sweet Mexican bread to go with our hot chocolate, but I'm not much of a baker. So, I found a local Mexican bakery that has many options to choose from. It’s like being back in my grandmother’s kitchen.
Gabriela is wife to husband, Aaron, and mom to four boys! She is a full-time mom, works as a substitute teacher, and owns her own cleaning business. She runs the Facebook group, I Only Make Boys, where she enjoys chronicling her boys' crazy adventures and sharing wisdom with other boymoms.
