Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa

Let's go to Colorado. Where they obsess with caramel almost as much as I do. I am absolutely in love with the sweet, sticky, amber colored goodness. When I saw the recipe for salted caramel hot cocoa on Pinterest, I absolutely fell in love. I gave this recipe a try on a night where all I felt was doing was cuddling up on the couch in my pajamas with a good book. Once you try this recipe you will be hooked, trust me!

Recipe Courtesy of Pham Fatale

Here is what you will need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup whipped cream (optional)

First, you are going to start off by combining the cocoa powder and the cornstarch in a small mixing bowl; mix well.

Next, in a saucepan you are going to heat up the milk. When it is warm, add the cocoa powder and cornstarch slowly and mix well.

In a separate saucepan, heat the heavy cream. Set aside and keep it on low.

In a non-stick sauce pan, mix together the sugar and water over medium-high heat. Make sure you watch the sugar very closely, for as soon as the edges of the pan begin to caramelize, immediately lower the heat to medium-low.

To check the consistency of your caramel. Gently swirl the sides of your saucepan in circles, but do not use a spoon.

Once the consistency is thick, lower the heat to a simmer. Let the sugar become golden brown and not dark brown or else the caramel will taste burned.

When the sugar is an amber color, remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand for a minute. Slowly add your warm cream (if the cream isn't warm anymore, feel free to put it in the microwave for 20 seconds) and sea salt. Stir constantly with a spoon. Let cool.

Add in your milk and cocoa mix one cup at a time until it is the constancy and sweetness of your liking.

Serve hot with whipped cream on the top! :)

Enjoy!