Hot chocolate is one of my absolute favorite treats in the winter months. As a believer in all things hygge - especially this time of year - warming up with a hot cup of cocoa, tea, or coffee instantly fills me with the familiar feeling of coziness.

P.S. if you want to start incorporating more warmth, happiness, and coziness into your life, I absolutely recommend giving “The Little Book of Hygge” by Meik Wiking a read, and learning a bit about the Danish concept of hygge. The book also makes a great gift for anyone on your list!

Though I love almost every cocoa I meet, instant pods and powdered packets don’t always do the trick. Even when making it fresh and heating it on the stove, I’ve found that it just isn’t quite as rich and creamy as I’d like. Enter slow cooker hot cocoa.

Just by letting a few ingredients sit in a slow cooker for a few hours, you can have virtually effortless and seriously delicious cocoa. Though this recipe is quite dairy-heavy…and I’m lactose intolerant…I’d make it again and again. I hope to come up with a dairy-free alternative soon!

There are a ton of slow cooker hot cocoa recipes out there, largely with the same combination of ingredients (milk, condensed milk, chocolate chips and/or cocoa powder, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla), but this is the combination that I came up with that worked best for my taste.

*prepared in a 6.5qt slow cooker, makes about 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

-5 1/2 cups of milk (I used nonfat)

-1/2 can (7 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (using the whole 14 oz. can was entirely too sweet for me, I highly recommend using 7 oz. or less to cut back on the sweetness)

- 1 cup milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my preferred brand for chocolate chips due to their richness)

- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

- Combine all ingredients into slow cooker and stir. Set to low heat for 2 hours, whisk or stir periodically.

- After ingredients are fully combined, and the chocolate chips are completely melted, set slow cooker to warm, and serve when ready. If not serving the full amount within a few hours, the cocoa can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

We also made a quick batch of whipped cream to accompany the cocoa, using the recipe on the side of the whipping cream carton. Simply whisk together 1/2 cup of whipping cream, 1.5-2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Blend together until stiff peaks form. This recipe instructed to freeze the mixing container as well as the beaters for 15 minutes ahead of time, but we skipped that, used an immersion blender, and had perfect whipped cream in a few minutes.

Top your cocoa with whipped cream, mini marshmallows, and cinnamon, or your favorite toppings!

Wishing you all the coziest Christmas season! Let me know your favorite holiday treat in the comments!

Merrily,

Maya