Warm Up with 3 Naturally-Sweetened Hot Cocoa Recipes

Despite a relatively mild winter so far, the temperature's dropped below freezing the past couples nights where I live in North Carolina. And when it gets that cold, it's the perfect time for homemade hot cocoa.

Over the holidays, I tried out the following three delicious real food, naturally-sweetened hot cocoa recipes:

1. The Nourishing Gourmet's Classic Hot Cocoa  tasted so chocolaty that I couldn't resist a second mug! She suggested a dairy-free version with coconut milk, but all I had on hand was almond milk, and it worked out fine.

The Purposed Heart's hot cocoa

2. The Purposed Heart's Cozy Dark Hot Chocolate definitely lived up to its name! The rich, dark flavor left my palate satisfied. Even Starbucks' hot cocoa couldn't compare. Besides the milk, the ingredients for this cocoa are all dry, so you could realistically mix up a large batch to keep on hand all winter long.

3. GNOWFGLINS' Homemade, Real Food Hot Chocolate was my favorite. I don't know if it was the pinch of salt to cut the sweeteness or simply the combination of flavors that made me declare this one a keeper!

I think Little Girl enjoyed taste-testing these hot cocoa recipes even more than I did!

What's your favorite hot cocoa recipe?

By the way, this is the last week to get Healthy Holidays: Slightly-Indulgent Sweet Treats, a free eBook some other blogging friends and myself put together for our RSS/e-mail subscribers! Click here, to find out how to get your own free copy!