Today's recipient of the LKOTP Product Award for improving my life in an indulgent and completely unnecessary manner is the Back to Basics Cocoa-Latte Hot Drink Maker.
This bad boy makes the single finest cup of cocoa I have ever had. Ever. Anywhere. And I make it myself at home (bonus! on the cheap!). I usually subscribe to the Alton Brown philosophy of kitchen products in that a single purpose gadget or appliance takes up valuable kitchen space and is wasteful, multi-purpose is the way to go. If this thing didn't make the best cocoa I'd ever had I'd agree, but it has earned it's place in the kitchen and isn't going anywhere. We received it as a gift (ok, technically it was a gift for the kids from their Great-Aunt & Uncle) two Christmases ago. I was skeptical at first since I knew this was one more thing I'd have to find a place to store. But, it was Christmas morning so we opened it up and decided to make some cocoa. We were blown away by the yummy cocoa and immediately taken with the little machine.
It looks like a modified blender that both blends and heats the ingredients to the perfect temperature. You can immediately drink it when it is finished in the machine and not incinerate your mouth. One of my big pet peeves about ordering hot drinks in restaurants is that you are then forced to wait at least 5-10 minutes before you can safely drink them.
The recipe I use came in the instruction booklet for the Cocoa maker. It's relatively inexpensive and extremely easy.
Hot Cocoa
2 C. milk
1/4 C. sugar
5 t. cocoa
1 t. vanilla
Add the above to the blender, put the lid on, plug in, turn on. It quits mixing automatically when it's done. It even has a feature that automatically turns it on to mix and heat the remaining liquid in the blender so that your re-fill will still be the perfect temperature. This cocoa is so good I made a thermos full of it for my parents when we had the big blizzard in December. The girls had gone to their house before the snow started to make Christmas cookies and by lunch we were in the middle of a blizzard. Mom and Dad drove them back home and I gave her the thermos so they'd have something warm to sip on for the drive home (or sustain them should they have been buried alive in snow). She later asked me if we had put alcohol in it because it was so good. No kidding, it's really that good. And no I didn't put any alcohol in but I think it would be perfect with the new Bailey's Mint. Oh the possibilities....
Is it good for you? Technically no although my chocolate endorphins would argue with you (shut up, there totally are chocolate endorphins). It may not be good for you but as an occasional treat on a chilly day it can't be beat. My wicked math skills estimate the above recipe yields 2 C. of cocoa for about .70 cents.
As always no financial contributions were made to this blog author for product consideration (Unfortunately. That would rock, what a cool gig...) I just like to share when I find something I love.
And now with the temperatures approaching near spring like levels I raise my mug of cocoa and tell the rotten winter of 2007-2008 good-bye and good riddance. The cocoa machine will be safely nestled in the back of the cabinet until next fall.
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