Cook's Illustrated (Sorta)

I made the Cook's Illustrated version of hot cocoa, but I feel like I need to do it again, not because it didn't turn out well, but because I was missing a couple of ingredients so I made some substitutions. While some authors might approve of my tinkering, that's not really of the whole Cook's Illustrated spirit.

The Cook's Illustrated recipe called for Dutched cocoa and I used regular. After reading the Zingerman's description of the differences between the two (the dutching process smooths out the acidity of the cocoa and results in a less-strong flavor) I feel like maybe I'll like the natural cocoa powder better anyway. Only one way to find out.

I also omitted the shot of half-and-half the Cook's Illustrated takes at the end, only because I didn't have any. I liked what I ended up with, though. It's very similar in process to the recipe from Bittersweet and the results are about the same (maybe a bit less rich and a bit more bite), plus it's a little bit easier because there's no chocolate to chop.

Whisk together 3 tablespoons of natural cocoa, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup water and simmer, whisking, for a couple of minutes (they say this cooks the cocoa and allows it to bloom, releasing the fruit, chocolate and coffee flavors and giving it a toasty undertone). Add 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk and heat until bubbles form around the edge (do not boil). Stir in a dash of vanilla extract.