In that vein, I noticed that we were running low on a family staple- our Costco-tub of Nesquik was almost gone! If you know my husband and daughter, you know this is a tragedy of epic proportions. Now, a new tub of Nesquik doesn't cost all that much. But have you seen the ingredients list? Sugar, cocoa, salt, and a bunch of stabilizers and preservatives (aka corn and soy derivatives.) Sugar, cocoa and salt I DEFINITELY keep on hand, why couldn't I make my own?
I found out quickly it was difficult to stir cocoa powder into a glass of milk- it kept beading and lumping and sticking to my glass and spoon. However, I did find this recipe online for chocolate syrup- almost the same ingredients, and definitely easier to stir into a glass of milk! (Multiple sites have this same recipe, so I'm linking to the first site that pops up when I google "chocolate milk syrup recipe." :)
The syrup is rich and 'dark', like Hershey's syrup. It's almost a little too dark for my tastes, but Wonder Daddy thinks it's perfect. (duh...it's chocolate!)
I haven't done a cost breakdown on this, but that's only because I have a five pound bag of cocoa powder in my pantry right now. Yes really- I found it at our local Cash N' Carry, and the price was too good to resist (somewhere around $2 a pound.) So for right now, this DEFINITELY beats the pants off that tub of Nesquik! This takes about 5 minutes, and makes 20 ounces.
Chocolate Syrup
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water (or 1 for a very thick sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk cocoa powder and sugar together until the lumps are gone. Add water and salt and mix well- cook to a boil over medium heat. (I let it boil a minute or two to make it thicker.) Add vanilla and let cool before pouring into jars. Or alternatively, a splash of mint extract is really nice- just a touch, a little goes a long way!
Store in the refrigerator (it will thicken when chilled.)
Heh...sounds tasty, but I'm not sure it would be so cost effective without such cheap cocoa!
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