Bustin' the Winter Blues

Up here in the tundra, winter gets long. While I love me a good hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps, that doesn't work for everyone (especially not the littles!)

We use peppermint and cinnamon essential oils to give our hot cocoa a kick!

Alton Brown at the Food Network came up with a great hot cocoa mix that you can make in a big batch ahead of time (and add a few personal touches to). We mix ours with hot water. I like to toss the dry ingredients in to the food processor, to bring all of the flavors together and it makes for a smoother, more consistent mixture.

• 2 cups powered sugar (weeeee!) 
• 1 cup cocoa, Dutch-process 
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk 
• 1 t salt
• 2 t cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper 
• 2 t vanilla, pure powder (optional) 
• 1 cup dehydrated mini marshmallows (optional)
• 1 c white chocolate chunks or chips (optional)
• 8-12 oz hot water in a cup 
• 1 drop of essential oil (our faves - peppermint, cinnamon, wild orange)  

Enjoy!