by Russ Murray

Many delicious foods bring you the ultimate comfort. Others bring back childhood memories which are highly treasured by most of us. Some warm up your body and bring your soul along for the ride as well. Some of the foods can even accomplish all three in the most effective manner. For instance, there is nothing like a hearty bowl of hot soup to make an illness seem to just melt away. Not only are they healthy to eat, there is just something emotionally soothing about indulging in a bowl of soup when you are ill. In that same vein, the chocolate always has been a favorite comfort food for a lot of young and old alike. It simply tastes delicious, and fun times are sure to ensue whenever the chocolate is served. When you actually combine the best properties for these two comfort foods, a warm, rich cup of hot chocolate can really brighten your day, warm your soul, and bring back the sweet memories of Grandmas delicious homemade cocoa. And nothing soothes the winter blues than a steaming cup of chocolaty goodness.

There are many options for hot cocoa as well. You can settle for the store-bought instant cocoa, but there are small ways you can add a special twist on the old favorite and make lasting sweet memories as well. Here are a few simple ideas that will take only a few ingredients and a few minutes in the kitchen but will let you reap the warmth and goodness for hours. The dark chocolate powder is particularly very useful in the preparation of various delicious recipes.

For a rich and creamy batch of hot chocolate, add a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a can of some sweetened condensed milk, and your own measurement for cocoa (to taste) to 6 cups of hot (not boiling) water. Stir it occasionally as it heats so everything mixes well and also prevent it from boiling. The final mixture should yield about eight cups of very sweet, delectable goodness which is really delicious and comfortable to indulge in.

Another great variation is to try the Mexican hot chocolate. To make this spicy delight, add a pinch of ground cinnamon and some chili powder to your usual hot chocolate brew and really heat up your day and I am sure you will indulge in it again and again.

If you prefer the white chocolate cocoa, make enough for four cups and add teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and ground cinnamon to it. This is sure to spice things up but would not leave a strong aftertaste for sure. The gluten free chocolate is also used in the preparation of various chocolate recipes and is particularly good for health as well.