Ok, this is an emotional memory lane kind of moment. My grandma, my dad’s mom, wore red glasses. I would often refer to her as Grandma Red Rims. She and her sister were pillars in my life growing up. I cannot begin to express all of the ways they’ve impacted me. One small way can be seen in my writing. When picking a pen name, I stole their maiden name, Ryan. My grandma was a romance reader and that’s one small nod to her.
In my first book you will learn that Emma, my heroine, loves to have a scoop of hot chocolate mix in her coffee each day. It’s her grandmother’s recipe. I stole that idea, as I do many of my ideas in my writing, from real life. We have a jar of my grandma’s hot chocolate mix on the counter in our kitchen, right by the coffee maker.
This is my grandmother’s recipe. It’s crazy easy. The logo, however, is from my friend Kathy. She also designed my Kat Ryan logo. I asked if she was up for making something to symbolize my grandma and she whipped this up for me. I’m absolutely getting it on a t-shirt.
Grandma Red Rim’s Hot Chocolate Mix
- 8 quarts Dry Milk (Sometimes I go less, like 6 quarts, depending on what it comes in at the store.)
- 21.8 oz Nestles Quick
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 11 oz original Coffee-Mate
Mix it all together. This makes a lot. If I’m making hot chocolate, we use about 1/4 cup with a mug of hot water. If we’re using in coffee, we use a heaping tablespoon.
Enjoy!
