Is there anything better than a big mug of homemade hot chocolate on a cold winter day? I mean, tea and coffee are great–don’t get me wrong!–but there’s something about hot chocolate that hits all those childhood nostalgia notes.
Whipping up a mug for yourself is perfect for a chilly evening spent in front of the fire, but a hot chocolate bar is a fun option for holiday entertaining too. Set out different options for add-ins and write out the simple recipes below on a chalkboard or let people experiment and make their own custom hot chocolate blends.
These hot chocolate upgrades come from Holiday Hacks, a fun little book full of ideas for making the holiday season easier. It makes a fabulous gift for that friend who listens to Christmas carols all year long and puts up her tree as soon as Halloween is over!
Ten Ways to Spice Up Your Homemade Hot Chocolate
- Peppermint: 1 cup whole milk, 1⁄2 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Orange: 1 cup milk, 1⁄2 tablespoon sugar, 1⁄2 tablespoon grated orange zest, 2 ounces dark chocolate.
- Vegan: 1 cup vanilla almond milk, 11⁄2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar.
- Aztec: 1 cup milk, 5 ounces chopped dark chocolate, 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne.
- Peanut Butter: 1 cup skim milk, 1⁄2 cup heavy cream, 4 ounces chopped milk chocolate, 1⁄4 cup creamy peanut butter.
- Pumpkin Spice: 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 1⁄2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa.
- Nutella: 1 cup whole milk, 2 tablespoons Nutella, 1 tablespoon cocoa, a pinch of salt.
- Caramel: 1⁄2 cup milk, 5 ounces chopped milk chocolate, 1⁄4 cup heavy cream, 3 tablespoons caramel sauce.
- Lavender White: 1 cup whole milk, 1⁄4 teaspoon lavender buds, 1⁄2 cup white chocolate chips.
- Irish: 1 cup milk, 1⁄2 cup chocolate chips, 2 ounces Baileys Irish Cream.
Excerpted from Holiday Hacks by Keith Bradford. Copyright © 2018 Adams Media, a division of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, and Books-A-Million.
Leave a Reply