Animal Crackers and Cocoa to drink.....

Every year in school, our children memorize poetry.  When they are little, I read the poetry to them, and they choose what they want to commit to memory.  When they get a little older, they choose their own poems.  Sir Knight and I love nothing more than to listen to a well articulated piece of poetry that one of our children has stored away in their fertile minds.

When Hand Grenade was little, we came across this gem of a poem in a children's poetry book.  The book had wonderful illustrations and made us long to crawl into the book and join the occupants for Animal Crackers and  Cocoa to drink.  Now, on a wintry, blustery dark afternoon, we will set the kettle to singing on our wood cook stove, open little, individual boxes of crunchy animal crackers and sip on piping hot, homemade hot cocoa.  What a perfect way to experience the simple joys of childhood!

Animal Crackers

Animal crackers and cocoa to drink,
That is the finest of suppers I think;
When I'm grown up and can have what I please
I think I shall always insist upon these.
What do YOU choose when you're offered a treat?
When Mother says, "What would you like best to eat?"
Is it waffles and syrup, or cinnamon toast?
It's cocoa and animals that I love most!

The kitchen's the cosiest place that I know;
The kettle is singing, the stove is aglow,
And there in the twilight, how jolly to see
The cocoa and animals waiting for me.

Daddy and Mother dine later in state,
With Mary to cook for them, Susan to wait;
But they don't have nearly as much fun as I
Who eat in the kitchen with Nurse standing by;
And Daddy once said, he would like to be me
Having cocoa and animals once more for tea!

Christopher Morley (1890-1957) 

Now, for the hot cocoa recipe!  I started searching for just the right homemade hot cocoa recipe about 20 years ago.  I tried just about every cocoa recipe I could get my hands on.  Nothing suited until I came across a variation of this recipe in an old school cookbook of my husbands.  I tweaked this and that, until I came up with this version.  It is our favorite.  Our children won't touch that ol' store bought stuff!  And it is oh, so simple.

Enola Gay's Hot Cocoa Mix

4.3# box Nesquick (chocolate) (the size you can buy at Costco)
2 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
4 C Coffee Creamer
9 C Powdered Milk

Stir ingredients.  Mix 1/4 C. cocoa mix into a cup with hot water.

Getting everything together

My secrete recipe

Dumping in Nesquick

Adding creamer

Measuring the powdered milk

Mixing it all together

Ready to go into the cocoa jar

Get some Animal Crackers and enjoy!