It's One of Those Hot Cocoa Days - Try This Amazing Hot Chocolate with Truvia

Here in Alabama, it is rainy, dreary and gray - or what I like to call a Hot Chocolate Day. Nothing turns a chilly, bleak day into a cozy afternoon like a cup of rich, delicious hot cocoa and I have the perfect recipe that I've been wanting to test. Two weeks ago, I started a SOYS (Swap Out Your Sweetener)Challenge - I swapped out my artificial sweeteners for all natural Truvia. There were many reasons for my decision but this post is about my delicious, hot dark chocolate recipe that I whipped up this rainy afternoon. Instead of the usual 1/2 cup of sugar, I used 3 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp of Truvia. Here is the recipe and for more about Truvia, you can go to their website or MapTruvia.com

This is a decadent treat but to cut down on the calories a little, you can do like I did and cut the recipe in half, then share your yummy drink. So instead of a cup each, we had about a 1/2 cup each which is plenty when you have a drink that is so rich and thick.

 I don't really measure when I make my Hot Chocolate (I just pour in the milk and a dash of cornstarch and so on) so I found a recipe on about.com that was very similar. It is for Spanish Hot Chocolate - Chocolate Caliente. It is exactly the same as the recipe I used today except that it has specific measurements.  I did make an adjustment on the original recipe by substituting Truvia in place of sugar.  The only other thing I do differently is I smash the bakers chocolate into pieces before I put it into the pan to melt. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe- it is delicious with Truvia! 

• 2 8-ounce cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (3 squares) baking chocolate
• 3Tbsp. Truvia or 8-12 packets of Truvia You can adjust according to how sweet you want your cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and add the cornstarch. Whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, heat the milk on medium heat just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate squares immediately and begin stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. If the milk cools off too fast, place the pan back on the stove on low heat to melt the chocolate.

If you are using baking chocolate, which is unsweetened, pour the sugar into the chocolate milk mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved.

Place the pan back on the stove on medium low heat, stirring slowly, but constantly. (Do not cook the mixture over high heat because it may cause lumping.) Taste the chocolate for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. The mixture should thicken quickly. As soon as you see it thicken, remove the pan from the heat so the cornstarch will not thin. Ladle immediately into cups and serve piping hot.