24 hot cocoa recipes

A very healthy dessert, malted milk powder, low-fat cheese, and very good chocolate, tasty and great.

Homemade mocha coffee mix with instant coffee, hot cocoa mix, powdered creamer, and sugar. Mix a jar, scoop and stir with hot water for an instant cafe mocha.

A delicious make ahead mocha coffee drink mix. Perfect for those cool Autumn's and Winter mornings.

Chestnut meringues with chopped marrons glaces folded through crisp, snowy French meringue, dusted with cocoa. A delicate, old-world European cookie for tea trays and holiday gift tins.

Oaxaca tostada bites: tortilla chips topped with a mole-spiced black bean mash of cocoa, cumin, and cinnamon, cool avocado cream, pepper jack, and lettuce. A no-cook, party-ready Mexican appetizer.

Frosted rich brownies: low-fat brownies built on evaporated and powdered skim milk instead of butter, then crowned with a coffee-spiked cocoa frosting. Deeply chocolate without the heaviness.

Swiss Miss mousse is a 3-ingredient chocolate mousse made by dissolving hot cocoa mix in boiling water and folding it into whipped topping. No cooking, no eggs, light and airy, and chilled to set in about 30 minutes.

Big-batch homemade hot chocolate mix. Cocoa powder, powdered milk, creamer and sugar whisked together. Store in jars and scoop ⅓ cup per mug for cold-weather sipping.

Mexican hot chocolate whisks unsweetened cocoa with honey, cinnamon, and a touch of nutmeg into warm milk for a cozy, spiced sipper. From-scratch and naturally sweetened, no powdered packets required.

Frozen hot chocolate blends frozen chocolate-milk cubes into a thick, slushy chill, the iconic NYC dessert made light with low-fat milk and cocoa. Top it with marshmallows or shaved chocolate.

Nonfat hot chocolate mix made with skim milk powder, unsweetened cocoa, sugar substitute, and a hit of cinnamon for warm holiday spice. Mix once, store for weeks, and scoop into a mug whenever cravings hit.

Three-layer chocolate cake with cocoa, buttermilk, and a rich cocoa icing made with melted unsweetened chocolate. A towering, old-fashioned celebration cake.

Homemade marshmallows made with gelatin, sugar, and vanilla. Pillowy-soft, fluffier than anything from the store, and perfect for hot cocoa, s'mores, or gifting.

Hot fudge pudding cake that makes its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. Bisquick, cocoa, sugar, and hot water create a cakey top over a pool of gooey fudge. No eggs, no butter needed.

Crunchy twice-baked biscotti loaded with chopped Heath bars, pecans, and butterscotch extract. Makes 36 to 48 cookies that are built for dunking in coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.

Fat-free cocoa squares with applesauce instead of butter or oil. A hot cocoa-brown sugar sauce poured over the batter before baking creates a gooey, self-saucing chocolate dessert.