Happy new year, Fizzy friends! We hope you had the most wonderful and relaxing holiday season, full of love, and of course, delicious cocktails. Here in western Pennsylvania, we are officially in post-holiday hunker-down mode. That freakishly warm, swampy weather has departed, and now it’s cold and crisp outside. All we really want to do is curl up with a fluffy pillow, a great book, and a cozy cocktail -- and pretty much ignore everything else going on. If you’re like us and in need of a dreamy drink, look no further than this fully customizable, super easy adult hot chocolate.
Everyone loves a hot chocolate mix for its simplicity and rapidness of bringing liquid to mouth, but let’s face it, sometimes, it leaves us wanting, well, actual chocolate. And then there’s the truly decadent, ridiculously rich version with condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, and heavy cream…but that’s a ton of work! We’re happy to report that there’s a delicious middle ground that not only uses actual chocolate in it, but will be in your belly in 5 minutes or less.
This lovely little sipper hit the spot for maximum coziness, with bonus points for allowing us to enjoy some wayward chocolate pieces that found their way to our mouths while we prepared it. Enjoy this warm hug in liquid form, and we wish you a very joyous 2022!
Quick and Easy Spiked Hot Chocolate
Makes 1 cocktail
3 oz. heavy cream or whole milk
1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 to 1 oz. of your favorite spirit
Ingredient notes:
We used heavy cream for its silky, creamy decadence, but you can use milk that you have on hand. Just remember that less fat content in the milk equals less deliciousness. 😉
You can also use leftover chocolate chips from your holiday baking. Chips don’t melt quite so easily because of stabilizers used to hold their shape. But, this drink will still be delicious with chocolate chips.
We used this lovely caffe amaro from J. Rieger and Company, and it hit all the right notes. The addition of the coffee and bittersweet amaro was the perfect complement to the drink’s creaminess. But this cocktail works equally well with your aged spirit of choice, such as bourbon, brandy, rum, or tequila, if that’s your preference. Choose your own adventure!
Instructions:
Warm the heavy cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated into the liquid. (It should not reach a boil!) Pour into a preheated glass and gently stir in the spirit. Garnish with whipped cream, mini marshmallows, or mini chips, if you’d like. Sip & enjoy!
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