On the very rare occasion that I make either, I use chocolate syrup and milk.

I can't stand that powder stuff that you just add hot water to...Yuk! That stuff is gross!

Linda

Hey Robin, allow me add to the confusion by saying, I make both hot chocolate and hot cocoa. For hot chocolate, I break up a chocolate bar and stir it into hot milk with sugar to taste, and a little heavy cream, and vanilla thrown in for extra richness.
But cocoa also makes a killer hot chocolate. Here's one I really like.

Hot Cocoa

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
6 cups water

In a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk cocoa, pinch of salt and SCM, cocoa, until combined. Add all the water at once. Stir occasionally, until heated through. Stir in vanilla extract and serve.

Sol

No way no how Linda! I mean powdered cocoa.

Sol, my recipe is similar. Except that I usually boil the sugar and cocoa in water until it's disolved and then add the milk, bringing it back up scald and then add vanilla. Heck, if it's that close to what you do, it must be a good recipe. So how well does the chocolate melt when you just add it to the cream?

Rob, I (roughly) chop the chocolate and add it to the hot liquid. The chocolate will melt quickly once it hits the hot cream/milk mixture. In regards to the hot cocoa, it is very good, and Thumper prefers this to the commercial stuff.

Is it hot chocolate weather in TN? Sam thought their winter was considerably mild. She's been home since Christmas, so maybe Nashville's weather conditions have changed.

Sol

Heck no we're not mild this year! We're used to 30 for lows and 40 for highs. We had stretch of 9ish-24ish weather for a week and half. We're back to our usually mildish weather, but it won't last. My son is constantly asking for it as he goes around singing "Hot, hot, hot! We got it!" from The Polar Express. He's about Thumper's age if I remember correctly.

I see you used hot chocolate to describe it generally. So you must not be a purist ;) I'll try just adding some good chocolate melted in whatever milk/cream concoction I can contrive. Thanks!

I also make it both ways, but only occasionally, I usually drink tea or coffee. I always call it hot chocolate, no matter which ingredients or process I use, so I'm definitely not a purist.

I like it best with a good chunk of very dark (70-80%) chocolate and no sugar at all, but The Princess likes it less dark and more sweet. Bruvver will drink either, but he'll also drink my coffee if he gets a chance.

Annie

The difference would be that chocolate has a butterfat content which cocoa does not.

annie1992, did you know you're drinking hot chocolate closer to the historical recipe of the 19th century? Upperclass women who started their day with 'hot chocolate' were drinking chocolate shavings dissolved in hot water, with very little sugar and no milk. It was their caffeine substitute for coffee, which wasn't considered a "ladylike" drink at the time, LOL!

It wasn't until Milton Hershey popularized milk chocolate in 1900 that the sweeter versions of chocolate candies and drinks became widely available.

We like our chocolate with coffee in mochaccinos, topped with unsweetened whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder. Yum!

Williams-Sonoma, who sells a nice Pernigotti dark cocoa, also now sells a gourmet hot chocolate tin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Williams-Sonoma gourmet hot chocolate

See, I knew I was born too late, I should be a 19th century lady, sipping hot chocolate and waiting for the maid to lace up my corset! (grin)

Oh, never mind the maid. I knew the early Indians had chocolate with no sugar, but I didn't know that others did, so thanks for that information, it's interesting.

I still want my coffee, though. I wonder how a chunk of that dark chocolate in a cup of coffee would be? Hmmmm...

Annie

Jkom- the Mariebelle chocolate is one of the best! DH adores it!

The Aztecs drank their hot chocolate with chili peppers and no sugar. A version of it is amazingly good. Jacques Torres calls theirs "Wicked Hot Chocolate." Here's how I make mine:

8-10 oz. milk
1 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate
dash cayenne
1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
rounded tsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Heat until chocolate melts and whip with whisk. Pour into cup that has 1/4 tsp vanilla in it. Enjoy.

As strange as this sounds, it's really magnificent.

I warm up a glass of milk and add a shot of chocolate liqueur. If i feel like something more chocolatey though, I'll add in some cocoa.

My city got buried in snow this weekend so I spent about 3 hours shovelling Monday. Nothing is better than coming in after that work and curling up with warm cocoa and watching a hockey game.

I'm another one that never considered a difference. I never even thought about melting chocolate in hot milk until very recently. To me, hot chocolate has always been what y'all are calling hot cocoa. So, I guess I usually make hot cocoa. When I'm feeling decadant, I'll add a splash of Amaretto or some orange liqueur. Sometimes I'll heat up some left over coffee, with some cocoa and hot milk, or in the summer, have the same mixture but cold.

Sally

Hot Cocoa Mix (Alton Brown)

2 C confectioners sugar
1 C Dutch Process Cocoa
2 1/2 C powdered milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of cayenne
Mix together with whisk....use1/3 C mix to 1 C hot water. Must use Dutch Process Cocoa, and regular salt. I use about 1 1/4 C Splenda instead of the confectioners sugar

In preparing for winter, I got out my hot chocolate/hot cocoa mixes and ingredients. I found 1/2 box of Godiva Dark Chocolate Truffle Hot Cocoa, 1/2 box Ghiradelli Hot Chocolate mix, and The Fresh Market Hot Cocoa mix. I thought this would be a good time to taste test. To my surprise, the less expensive TFM was a little bit better. I combined all three into a large Mason jar.

This winter I have been heating half & half, milk, a TJ's truffle, then adding the combined mixes to the hot milk. Add marshmallow fluff. Wow, now that's a low cal breakfast drink.

I don't know who to credit with this recipe, but it's good. I have been making half batches:

Hot Cocoa Mix

Makes about 20 servings
3 cups nonfat dry milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in large bowl. Working in two batches, pulse ingredients in food processor until chocolate is finely ground. Store in airtight container for up to 3 months. To make hot cocoa, stir 1/3 cup of this mix into 1 cup of hot milk. Top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows.

Heat water in microwave, add Swiss Miss packet (it's the best!).

Sorry, I don't like it enough to make it from scratch... Swiss Miss will suffice after an hour outside sledding.

Stir fryi, I'm glad that works for you, but to me, instant cocoa mix is to hot cocoa what instant coffee is to coffee.

When I want a quick cup of cocoa (I'll learn to call it that instead of hot chocolate) I just grab my box of Hersey's cocoa, spoon a big heaping teaspoon into a cup, add a couple of spoons of sugar, and stir in a very small amount of milk, about a tablespoon. I stir till it forms a paste, then slowly add, while stirring, the rest of the milk to fill the cup. then I zap it in the microwave till it's hot, stopping it to stir once or twice. I'll add a tiny splash, about 1/4 teaspoon, of vanilla at the end. It sounds more complicated than it really is. It takes maybe a couple minutes longer than using a mix, and tastes so much better. That's basically the recipe on the Hersey's Cocoa box, but they have you dissolving the cocoa in water. I prefer to use milk.

Sally