A cup of hot chocolate, spiked with Kahlua if you like, and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne.
Spiked and Spiced Hot Chocolate
This Spiked and Spiced Hot Chocolate came about thanks to the frigid cold weather that moved into most of the eastern part of this country last weekend, including the deepest of The Deep South, and my apparent need to warm up from the inside out. It was bone-chilling cold for this southern gal, and although I was wearing two pairs of sweats, two long sleeved shirts, socks and slippers, and had the central heat going, none of it seemed to help at all. It was definitely a hot chocolate kind of night, and we have another couple of those heading in tonight for the weekend. Just in time for that last minute Christmas shopping, brrrr!I love hot chocolate and when I want it, I usually break out a saucepan and make the good ole familiar and well loved, old fashioned Hershey's cocoa recipe that many of us have been making all of our lives. This time, there on the counter sat these inviting packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips waiting for holiday treats, and just begging for a feature spot in a steaming cup of hot chocolate.
I also had those nice roasted McCormick spices in the cabinet from our BlogHer Food swag, so I thought why not spice things up a bit too? And of course, why not a little pinch of cayenne pepper to help boost up the good ole circulation while we are at it? What resulted was a delicious blend of spicy flavor, all of which complimented the chocolaty goodness. I probably used somewhere in the middle of 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and it was a very nice, healthy lip tinglier. Feeling adventurous? Go ahead and stir in a bit of Kahlua or bourbon. Give it a try!
Recipe: Spiked and Spiced Hot Chocolate
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 5 min |Cook time: 10 mins | Yield: About 4 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- 3 cups whole milk, divided
- 1 cup heavy cream, divided
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Freshly grated nutmeg (about 6 passes on a microplane grater)
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 ounces Kahlua or bourbon whiskey, or to taste, optional
- Whipped cream or mini marshmallows, for garnish
- Grated nutmeg, for garnish
Add 1 cup of the milk with the chocolate chips and sugar to a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat, until sugar and chocolate is dissolved and mixture comes to a near boil. Stir in the remaining milk and heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne; bring to near boil again. Remove from heat and stir in Kahlua or whiskey. Pour into mugs, top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows, and grate a bit of fresh nutmeg on top.
Makes about 4 mugs - depending on size. Serve hot.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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