Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• 4 - 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 - 1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise (see tips, below)
• 1 1/2 - 1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 8 - 8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 - 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process (see tips, below)

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from thisweekfordinner.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature. In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground. Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend. Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months. To serve, Jane’s instructions: I heat 2 cups of milk over the stove and whisk in about 1/3 cup of the mix. You can also heat the milk in the microwave and it works…but the stove is a little better. If you like it richer, add more mix! Jane Note: I used 16 oz mason jars and was able to put ~1 3/4 cups of mix in each jar. When I quadrupled the recipe, I filled 19 jars, plus a little left over. Tips: •Save the other half of the vanilla bean for another use, such as a second batch of vanilla sugar, which keeps indefinitely and can be used in baking, coffee, or simply to sprinkle on fruit or waffles. •Dutch process cocoa has been treated with an alkaline solution, which gives it a darker color and less bitter flavor and makes it dissolve more easily.