Step Aside Marshmallows: Hot Chocolate Concoctions for the “Big Kids”

Peppermint Hot Chocolate-Annie Rath and Nicole Cousins

It may have felt like spring last week, but leave it to Boston weather to tempt you with warmth and then slap you across the face with single digit temperatures. On the bright side, that means more time to enjoy comfort foods, or in this case, drinks. Most of us probably grew up with hot chocolate as our staple winter drink. Now that we are sophisticated young adults, we can get a little more creative than just marshmallows (no offense to the marshmallows). I’ve listed some ideas to get you started.

Before you start whipping up different concoctions, it is good to have a simple hot chocolate recipe. Gather the following: 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 teaspoons cocoa powder, a dash of salt, 1 cup milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Heat the cup of milk in the microwave for 90 seconds, or on the stovetop until it is warm. Mix together the sugar, cocoa and salt in a mug. Pour the hot milk on top of the sugar-cocoa mixture, add the vanilla and whirl with a spoon.

If you are making hot chocolate for others, just multiply all the ingredient amounts by the number of people and make one big batch. Whole milk is the best for hot chocolate, but go ahead and use 2%, skim, soy-whatever suits your fancy.

Hazelnut-Enthusiast: Who doesn’t love Nutella? It’s perfect on bread, crepes, fruit-anything! Look out chocolate-Nutella is coming to town! While heating the milk, stir in 1-2 tablespoons Nutella. Reduce the cocoa powder to 2 teaspoons. Then simply continue to pour the Nutella-milk mixture over the sugar-cocoa mixture.

Nostalgia for the Holidays: Coffee fans always seem so excited when their coffee shop pulls out the holiday menus

Peppermint Chocolate Stirrers

and special red cups. There is no reason to save the cheerful taste of peppermint for November and December, especially when it is so simple. Try adding 1-2 drops of peppermint extract instead of the vanilla extract. For an extra treat, make these quick chocolate covered peppermint stirrers: Melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Either dip candy canes into the melted chocolate, or use a spoon to spread the chocolate. Allow the candy canes to sit on a sheet of wax paper until the chocolate hardens again.

Mexican Hot Chocolate: Vosges Haut Chocolate makes an enticing chocolate bar that surprises your taste buds with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies and Ceylon cinnamon, called the “Red Fire Exotic Candy Bar.” For a lot less money, you can recreate these flavors in your mug of hot chocolate. Add ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground cayenne pepper to the sugar-cocoa mixture. Then continue with the hot milk.

Hot Chocolate for the Big Kids

Moscow Hot Chocolate: I can’t take credit for this delicious combo. I came across this recipe and thought if anyone would know how to make great hot chocolate, it has to be the Russians. Add 1 oz vanilla flavored vodka and ¾ oz amaretto liquer to the sugar-cocoa mixture. Continue by adding the hot milk, but leave out the vanilla extract. Pop on your bomber hat, make a large batch of this hot chocolate and you won’t be cold for a while.

Irish Hot Chocolate: Now let’s jump over to Ireland-because this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Bailey’s Irish Cream. Simply stir in 1 oz (more if you ignore your inhibitions whenever Bailey’s is involved) of Bailey’s Irish cream into the hot chocolate. Give the different flavors of Bailey’s a try too-the Mint Chocolate flavor is fantastic.

In Case the Temperatures Rise Again:

Frozen Hot Chocolate: I worked at Williams-Sonoma for a summer and one of my main jobs was to demonstrate cooking techniques throughout the day to help sell our products. On the days I was making something really special, I would text my friends to give them a heads up about yummy and free samples. The frozen hot chocolate mix was one of those special treats and you must try it!

Serendipity, a restaurant that opened in New York in the 1950s, created the frozen hot chocolate drink. It has been famous for decades, and once you try it, you know why. You can buy the mix at Williams-Sonoma or straight from Serendipity, or you can use the recipe Serendipity finally released to the public!

Chop 3 oz of your favorite chocolates into small pieces. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and then stir in 2 teaspoons of store-bought hot chocolate mix and 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in ½ cup of milk until the mixture is smooth. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Set up a blender and throw in 1 cup milk, the chocolate mixture and 3 cups ice. Blend on high until you reach your desired consistency. Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream.

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