I LOVE hot chocolate. I have a huge sweet tooth, yes, but I also currently live in New England where, as you may have heard, it tends to snow on occasion (see picture... yep, that's a 25-foot tall pile of snow). Nothing beats coming in after shoveling and having a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Sure, coffee can do the job, or tea if that’s your preference, but there’s something especially satisfying about hot chocolate.
I always thought of hot chocolate as powder mixed into boiling water until relatively recently. My wife’s grandmother (my grandmother-in-law?) made some real hot chocolate for us on a snowy day a few years back. I don’t know what her recipe was, I just know that it was way better than powder packets. Don’t get me wrong, those are good too, and we always keep some in the house in case of emergency—hot chocolate made from real chocolate is just better.
The recipe I have for you here is something I whipped up myself. I intended it to be as simple as possible with as few ingredients as possible. The vanilla extract is optional, but it adds a nice layer of flavor; I don’t recommend skipping it.
Some people are really wild with their chocolate and like it a little bit spicy. If you want to be wild, you can add a dash of cayenne pepper. A touch of almond extract (and by that, I mean one drop, maybe two) could also be fun—let’s not get too crazy here though, this is just supposed to be hot chocolate.
Simple Hot Chocolate
Makes: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 mintues
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 ½ cups milk
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Whipped cream for topping
Cinnamon or cocoa powder for dusting
1. Float a metal mixing bowl in a pot of boiling water, and melt the chocolate in it. Be careful not to let the chocolate get too hot.
2. Add the milk and allow to heat for about 1 minute.
3. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla until uniformly colored. Continue heating, stirring occasionally, until steaming.
4. Serve in a mug, top with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon/cocoa powder.