Almond Milk Cinnamon Hot Cocoa

Ugh, I know I have pretty much abandoned Bookcooker in 2013, and I apologize.  January just ran away from me - work, skiing on the weekends, perhaps a little lack of inspiration.  And then, I was out of town, and out of the country for a trial for work.  The trial went on longer than expected, in fact, after three weeks it still isn't finished (hopefully we will put it to bed this week!)  I thought that when left alone in a strange, cold, snowy Canadian town I would have plenty of time to focus on blogging at night, but alas, the trial was pretty much all consuming mentally.  So I hope with this post I will start to put things back on track, and promise in March to be up and running on a more regular basis.  What we have here is a warm and toasty hot cocoa made with almond milk.  A feature in the January Martha Stewart Living on almond milk inspired me and now I am fairly obsessed with this ingredient, in addition to using it oatmeal and cereal, I also made a yummy, healthier creamed spinach.  While almond milk is rich, it doesn't leave you with that heavy, bloated feeling that real dairy sometimes does.  This is especially true for this hot cocoa, which was wonderful and rich but did not deliver a knock out punch that left me lethargic on the couch!  It is still very snowy and cold in New England, so this drink could be that special treat that gets you through the final dregs of winter.  Enjoy.

Almond Milk Hot Cocoa, Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)
4 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon course salt

Directions:

1. Bring milk and cinnamon sticks to a low boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. After the milk comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon sticks.
3. Whisk in cocoa, chocolate, sugar and salt.  Whisk vigorously until the mixture is foamy, a couple of minutes.
4.  Pour into mugs and serve.  Feel free to garnish with marshmallow (like above), and cinnamon.