The best hot chocolate ever!

This truly is the best hot chocolate evah (a respectable girl from Massachusetts would never pronounce an "r" at the end of a word - ha!). I love it! I make this often and it satisfies me completely. The creaminess and frothiness of this drink excites many of the senses - it smells great, looks beautiful, and tastes heavenly. I first make cashew milk as the base of this delectable drink (which you can refrigerate and use later), then I make the hot chocolate - all in a Vitamix. It is really fast and easy. 

Cashew Milk

• 3 cups filtered water
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2-3 medjool dates, pitted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

​Put all the ingredients in the Vitamix or a high powered blender and blend for one minute. Voila! You have just made one of the creamiest nut milks you will ever taste. This makes 4 cups of cashew milk.

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Hot Chocolate

To the cashew milk, add:

• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

If you have a Vitamix with the hot soup setting, place it on this setting and let it blend until finished. It is about a 7-minute cycle and it produces the perfect chocolaty drink. Yum! If you do not have this setting, you can put it in a blender for a couple of minutes. It will not be hot enough, so you will need to pour it into a saucepan and stir over the stove until hot. In a hurry, you could microwave it for one minute. Just beware that the chocolate comes out a bit thicker when using a microwave. The viscosity of the microwave version reminds me of the time I spent in Spain eating churros and chocolate. It is thick and pudding like, but it is still delicious. ​

I serve the hot chocolate in very large coffee mugs, so this recipe only equals 2 servings. If any one remembers The Beverly Hillbillies, I would call these "Jethro servings". Sometimes I just cannot help myself. ​