Is there a difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa? Maybe it’s a regional thing like “pop”, “soda”, or “coke”. (I grew up in Oklahoma, so I call it “coke”. All of it, no matter the brand or flavor.) Oh, Google to the rescue: “Although many people use the term “hot cocoa” interchangeably with “hot chocolate,” there’s a big difference between the two. Hot chocolate, or “drinking chocolate,” is made from ground chocolate (which contains cocoa butter), and hot cocoa is made with cocoa powder only.” So technically this is “hot cocoa”, and admittedly, though the former does sound more fancy and refined, I’m still calling it “hot chocolate”, deal? (We’ll blame Oklahoma.)

I used to love ripping into those little pouches of pre packaged hot chocolates, mixing and matching flavors, comparing and contrasting milk vs. water, one pouch vs. two – I guess I’ve always been a bit of a food nerd. So, in hopes of conjuring up some childhood nostalgia (and to temper a mad hankering for a warm chocolatey beverage), I set to work in the kitchen determined to make a powdered dairy and sugar free hot chocolate mix. I’m certain a luxurious sipping chocolate could be made by simmering unsweetened almond milk on the stove with a slip of my homemade chocolate, but I had a glass jar I wanted to fill and gift for Christmas.

The addition of homemade marshmallows (sugar/egg/corn free!) makes it a real treat, and I hope you enjoy this drink as much as I do, whatever you choose to call it!