Oh well that isn't as fun! lol!  And here I am trying to figure out how they get hot cocoa mix into the chocolate!

 

Michelle

Cute idea, Michelle!! Hey, can you say "Bamboo Spooners"??  Hey, & while we're at it, why not include them in our SA mugs on a SA Sm White Square with some cookies like your pic you shared?!! This would be GREAT to do as Holiday Gift Ideas Show or even as a workshop (call it a "PC Santa's Workshop"! LOL) where you assemble it & take it home. Just another idea there for ya....Marian

 

Chocolate Goodness

Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli and Mocafe Mexican Spiced Cocoa mixes. (SHNS photo by Owen Brewer / Sacramento Bee)

By Mike Dunne
Sacramento Bee

So which is it, hot chocolate or hot cocoa?

If the cup is brewed from a chocolate bar or chocolate chips, it's hot chocolate.

If it's brewed from cocoa powder, it's hot cocoa.

Both chocolate and cocoa originate with the beans of the cacao tree, which thrives in Latin America.

As the beans are roasted and ground, they yield the thick, dark paste called chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor doesn't include any liquor, but it does include the vegetable fat cocoa butter. Ultimately, the more cocoa butter remaining in the final chocolate, the richer it is.

Bitter or unsweetened chocolate, often called for in recipes for hot chocolate made from scratch, is straight chocolate liquor. Bittersweet, semisweet and sweet chocolates, which also can be used to make hot chocolate, have sugar added.

Unsweetened cocoa powder is solidified chocolate liquor that has been pulverized after much of its cocoa butter is removed. Thus, hot cocoa tends to be lower in fat than hot chocolate.

Cocoa powder is marketed as sweetened or unsweetened, and either can be used for hot cocoa, though unsweetened versions need to have sugar or honey added during the brewing.

Cocoa labeled "Dutch processed" or "alkalized" means its acidity has been treated to make it mellower.

Measuring cups and spoons, a microwave oven, a pot or two and a wooden spoon or wire whisk are about all the kitchen utensils anyone generally needs to produce a couple of cups of hot chocolate, and chances are you won't need all of them for any one version.

Several recipes, however, warn that hot chocolate not only not be boiled, but that the temperature not exceed 180 degrees, and to gauge that, an instant-read thermometer comes in handy.

When working with cocoa powder, a sifter helps break up bits and clumps to hasten absorption, but a fine-mesh screen and a spoon also will do the trick.

For some people, a cup of hot chocolate isn't complete without a frothy head, a presentation perfected in Mexico, where an intricately carved wooden whisk called a molinillo long has been used to foment the chocolate.

Molinillos can be found in Mexican grocery stores. Easier to use to the same effect is a hand immersion blender, which can be found in hardware and kitchenware stores for around $15.

For conversation and drama, prepare and pour cups of hot chocolate from a white porcelain replica of a chocolate pot favored by the court of Louis XVIII in the 19th century. The Web site www.gourmetsleuth.com has them for $140.

Even more extravagant is the Minilux Chocolate Machine, made for commercial food service but also available for the home kitchen.

It's just the appliance to assure chocoholics of a continuously stirred and consistently thick, creamy and hot cup of Italian cioccolata whenever they want it. The chocolate maker costs $980 and is available through the online store CyberItalia (cyberitaliaonline.com).

Chocolate syrups, chocolate chips, chocolate bars and cocoa powders all can be used to make cups of hot chocolate.

Based on their variety and the amount of shelf space they occupy, powders look to be the most popular source for hot cocoa drinks. Some are cocoa powder alone, and some are mixes also apt to include artificial flavors, nonfat dry milk, preservatives, soy lecithin, vanilla and sugar, to which only water or milk need be added.

We tested 10 brands. For the most part, cups of hot cocoa from packaged mixes tended to be light on chocolate flavor, very sweet and thin, with artificial tastes in the finish. Straight cocoa powders usually produced richer and more complex drinks and provided more opportunities to tailor the results to the preferences of individual palates.

We found three cocoas to be especially enjoyable:

• Mocafe Mexican Spiced Cocoa Azteca D'Oro 1519: Just add one scoop of cocoa to 8 ounces of hot milk for a reasonable, pleasant and lightly complex version of cinnamon-spiced Mexican hot chocolate made from scratch. (frontporchcoffee.com)

• Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa: The Ghirardelli yielded the sweetest, thickest, creamiest, richest drink from a packaged mix we tasted. (www.coffeeam.com)

• Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder: Don't panic for the lack of directions on the package. They're tucked inside. Without any sugar, alkali or powdered milk added to the cocoa powder, in contrast to many others, the Scharffen Berger yielded a cup of hot chocolate more for grownups than children. Its straightforward and mature richness just begged for whipped cream or marshmallows. (www.scharffenberger.com)

Wow, Bev!!! Thanks for sharing. I just love this kind of info. I guess it's the teacher in me, too!!

Marian

Chocolate Covered Spoons These chocolate covered spoons make an excellent accompaniment to gift in a jar recipes for cocoa, hot chocolate or coffee. A simple plastic spoon coated in chocolate is also a nice added touch with a gift of coffee beans. You'll soon think of other gifts that would be enhanced by these sweet utensils. A friend of mine has a wonderful site, called Cocoajava, where you'll learn (as if you didn't already know), that "Chocolate and Coffee Are Not Merely Edibles, They're a Lifestyle." Ms. Cocoajava kindly allowed us to share this chocolate spoon project with you. We also have another Recipe for Chocolate Covered Spoons; on that page, you'll also find recipes for hot cocoa, with printable gift tags, homemade dog cookies, and more.

Chocolate Covered Spoons Craft supplies you will need: 12 ounce package of chocolate chips. You may use semi-sweet, white chocolate, raspberry flavored, or any other style chip of your choosing. 40 heavy plastic spoons Shortening Deep glass measuring cup Colored cellophane or Saran Wrap Waxed paper Thin Ribbon

Chocolate Spoons Instructions Here's how to make it:

Pour the chips into a heatproof container, such as a measuring cup. A deep cup is the best for this project. Microwave the cup of chips at half power for one minute. Stir. Repeat in 30 second bursts until chocolate is smooth and fully melted, but do NOT over cook. Add to the melted chocolate one teaspoon of shortening for each cup of chips. Stir lightly until just blended. Dip plastic spoons into the chocolate to coat the bowl and about one inch of the handle. If the chocolate starts to harden, microwave 30 seconds at half power. Ms. CocoaJava's Gift Spoon Design Lay spoons on wax paper to set. When chocolate spoons have set, put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. This makes them easier to handle when you start to wrap them. Take squares of colored cellophane and wrap the coated spoons. Tie with a pretty ribbon. Once you have mastered the basic technique, you can experiment! Try drizzling streaks of white chocolate over dipped spoons to create a design. Sprinkle colored sugar on chocolate before it sets for a holiday look. A bundle of chocolate spoons set in a coffee mug makes a nice gift. Tie a few spoons to a bag of gourmet coffee beans for a coffee loving friend. Keep spoons on hand during the holidays to use when serving drinks to your visitors.

I completely forgot that we have something like this in the

documents.  Follow this link, then go to Holiday Treats.

 

You can find spoon molds at Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics.  We have made them before.  They make wonderful gifts.  Kids like to eat them as suckers!

Michelle, I can't imagine how you would be able to get powedered cocoa mix to stay "under" while  you dipped it in chocolate!  We all have made the spoons that you stir coffee or cocoa with to add chocolate flavor but this appears to have the cocoa under the chocolate.  I would think it would also have to be a very concentrated mix if "As you stir, the milk will be flavored to a supremely rich cup of cocoa!"

I think the "mix" is the chocolate itself.  The chocolate is pretty thick on the spoon.  There is hot chocolate made just from melted chocolate and milk.  One version I believe is called Mexican hot chocolate.

So, now that we don't have the double boiler anymore, what all can we sell to make these?  Micro-Cookers.  Bamboo Spooners.  What else?  I need some new ideas for guests for Christmas. 

Sell SA of course for the cocoa itself.  Maybe the gift set instead so they'll have other options besides just cocoa.

 

Parchment paper to dry the spoons.

 

Guess there's not a lot to show off here.  My MIL makes her own cocoa in a saucepan on the stovetop every year at Christmas.  Then makes cinnamon rolls too for us to eat while opening gifts.  Kind of a family tradition with them.  So if you put something else together with the spoons you could acutally have a show!

 

Michelle