Strawberry Hot Cocoa Mix

Most of the year I am not much of a hot drink lover. I know lots of people can't live without their tea or coffee, or hot chocolate, but its just not something I crave every day. I used to own my own coffee shop when my kids were small, and I confess . . . . I did drink a lot of coffee back then.

But vanity caused me to stop drinking it about 30 years or so ago. I didn't like the way it stained the teeth, tea as well, and I couldn't afford to go to the Dentist very often, and so I just stopped drinking it. Then of course I joined the Church of Jesus Christ in the year 1999, and we have a health law called the Word of Wisdom and we don't drink tea or coffee as a part of that anyways.

Latter Day Saints do love their hot chocolate however, but as a person who has never liked chocolate milk or hot chocolate, that doesn't do it for me either! I have the occasional one, but its not something I go out of my way for.

Long about this time of year however, I start craving this Strawberry Hot Cocoa. It is a homemade mix . I got the recipe from a Gooseberry Patch book quite a number of years ago now called Autumn in the Country and is attributed to Tammy Moody from Thomasville, GA.

I just love the Gooseberry Patch Recipe books. Each one is like sitting down with an old friend. All the recipes in them are pretty good. I've never tried one I didn't fall in love with and this is one of those!

Its very easy to make and so delicious, using only 4 basic ingredients. Non-dairy coffee creamer, strawberry drink mix, powdered milk and sugar. It does make quite a bit, but that's no problem as we gobble it up during these colder months.

I like it so much more than not cocoa, firstly because its not chocolate, and secondly because it melts instantly into the boiling water in your mug. It doesn't clump or leave any powdery residue. In short its perfection!

Of course sometimes as an additional treat, and when I need an extra pick me up, I will top each serving with a small handful of pink and white mini marshmallows.

So lovely and indulgent . . . so simple . . . perfect for biscuit dunking!

I really do love it. It has a nice mild strawberry flavour and beautiful consistency.

It is also perfect for this time of year to make as gifts for friends and family. You can mix it up pronto and divide it into clean jars for giving.

Always adding of course a tag which give instructions on how to use it. You can make it a gift on it's own or you can pop it into a basket with a few other goodies for giving.

Perhaps a really festive Christmas mug, filled with a bag of marsh mallows, a cute tin of shortbread biscuits, a nice plaque that they can hang on the wall, etc. Anything festive goes. You can let your gift-giving imagination go wild here!