How to quickly cool down hot chocolate

Cool hot chocolate! Oxymoron? Maybe. But definitely a good hack.

From Jane:

When the kids want hot cocoa RIGHT NOW after playing outside, but they won't actually drink anything hotter than lukewarm ... I make the cocoa with super-hot water as normal, but don't fill it all the way up, and top it off with cold milk. That way the cocoa mix still dissolves well, but it's cool enough to drink quickly, plus bonus extra protein.

Jane thought this might be too "tiny" of a hack, but haven't we all been stuck with kids + too-hot hot cocoa? Many non-scalded tongues will thank you in the chilly months ahead.

Related: Make your own instant hot chocolate mix

Comments

[Kara]

So happy to know my son isn't the only one to phrase it that way. He always asks for "cool hot chocolate" Love this hack.

[Sarah in Georgia]

We recently had a hot chocolate bar and as part of it had frozen raspberries we put in the hot chocolate. The raspberries added a delicious flavor to the chocolate and would help cool it down somewhat, although not as much as the milk.

Other toppings we had were whipped cream, marshmallows, red hots, candy canes and cinnamon sticks. After the fact, I thought of having crushed Andes Mints and crushed Skor bars.

[renee]

I do this too. And then when they just eat the whipped cream off the top and leave half the drink, I freeze it in popsicle molds to make fudgsicles. No chocolate goes to waste in my house.

[Judy]

My son is definitely one of those who wants hot cocoa right then & there...this hack has saved me much blowing :)

[Clancy]

Ha! Beats my dad's old hack of dropping an ice cube in it. :) That one wasn't bad either, though.

[famousamy]

I use this for myself at work. But rather than milk, which I don't have access to during the day, I use water and throw in an ice cube to top it off. Works wonders. :-)

[Sheila]

Great tip! My son loves lukewarm hot chocolate. :)

[Tracy]

Love it & I MUST do a Hot Cocoa bar like Sarah in Georgia, what a fun idea for a winter day!

[hrm]

I freeze ice cubes of coffee that I drop into my own hot chocolate. It makes it into a delicious mocha. I was thinking of freezing hot chocolate into cubes to drop into my girls' hot chocolates because they also think anything warmer than room temperature is too hot. :)

[Lauren]

There are so many other places this works. Ice cube in hot soup, frozen peas in hot mac n cheese. My kids have come up with their own ideas because they can't possibly wait for anything to cool down on its own!

[Molly]

We also put cold milk in our cocoa to cool it down. My kids are super picky about food being too hot, so I'm always cooling things down. For foods, if it's savory (lentils, rice, macaroni, etc.) I often add in frozen peas (or sometimes corn). And for oatmeal we add in frozen blueberries (or other berries). The peas/berries thaw isntantly and warm up quite quickly while cooling everything else off.

[Kimberly]

I just stopped at Dunkin' Donuts this morning for a hot chocolate. I ordered a medium, but asked the lady to put it in a large-sized cup and to top it off with milk. Most coffee shops, etc. will do this exact same thing if you ask- those machines make the drinks WAY too hot.

[jody]

I like a scoop of ice cream to cool down my hot chocolate. :)

[Susan (5 Minutes for Mom)]

I also always cool down "hot" chocolate for them with cold milk.

[aleXX]

That's nearly the way, I cool down mugs of tea for my children. I put in a tea bag, pour the hot water on, but only half full. Then, after a short while, I remove the tea bag, add sugar and stir, so it will dissolve quickly, then add cold water or cold milk, it depends on the sort of tea. (they love roiboos with milk)

[Andrea S.]

My dad always added milk to my grits to cool it down when I was little, so I use this method for oatmeal for my girls now. We use ice cubes for soups.

[Stephanie]

I usually nuke the milk a teeny tiny bit and add chocolate syrup and stir. I found out that with powder the milk has to be hotter so you don't get lumps. Syrup, not so much.... and the kids don't seem to mind. voila! even faster "lukewarm" hot chocolate

[jillian]

I put the kettle on, then mix the hot chocolate powder with cold milk while I wait for the water to heat up. That way it's all dissolved by the time I add water.

[Asha Dornfest]

HOT CHOCOLATE BAR! I want! (Actually, "hot chocolate bar" sounds almost as odd as "cool hot chocolate.")

[inthefastlane]

This was one of those head smacking hacks, that was such a good idea, and so easy, and why, when I have been raising kids for over 17 years, had I not thought of it yet. We have a tradition of Christmas movies and hot chocolate and my youngest is always complaining about his being too hot. Added the milk last night and the bonus was the extra creamy hot chocolate that had him giving me kisses and telling me this was the best hot chocolate ever. So glad this "little" hack was shared.

[Melissa]

I use a spoonful of French vanilla or vanilla bean ice cream in our hot chocolate - creamier and tastier than marshmallows, and cools it down to just the right drinking temperature! :)

[Rebecca]

Its the middle of winter here, but the popsicle maker is still in high use. It is filled with plain water and Child gets one to play with in the bathtub. He's a bit finicky about the temperature of the water and this gives him some sense of control.

[Angela]

Great idea! I do the same for instant oatmeal too.