It’s finally October! That means I can have anything pumpkin, cinnamon, or apple that I want! That, and it will start getting cool eventually and I can begin enjoying hot drinks of any sort. Glory! Though we’ve only had one cool day in Florida thus far, I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to have a lovely hot chocolate!
Normally, our household runs on Mexican/Latin inspired food. So I decided to branch out into drinks and try a new style of hot chocolate, fittingly, Mexican.
I’m not sure if the wonderful people of Mexico actually make hot chocolate this way (considering it’s hot in most of the country for most of the year) or if this delicious drink was attributed to Mexicans due to the kick of spice in it that is reminiscent of their food. The secret is definitely the spices. Either way, I am so glad it is added to my repertoire. It will be a nice addition to snuggly winter months and movie nights.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe serves 2
3C milk I’ve used both 2% and almond, and prefer 2%
4oz bittersweet chocolate
1T brown sugar
1t vanilla
1/4t ground cinnamon
2 pinches of salt
1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper
First, heat the milk, chocolate, and brown sugar
on medium heat. Stir continuously to avoid burning the chocolate to the bottom of the saucepan. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, bring to a boil then return to medium heat.
At this point stir in the spices and let them steep for about 3 minutes.
If you’ve never experienced cayenne in liquid, there’s something I must tell you at this point. I found this out the hard way when trying a crazy cleanse with cayenne in drinking water. The longer the cayenne is in the liquid, the longer it steeps…and the spicier it gets! I say this out of love and not to make you fear. If you follow these instructions, you won’t burn the inside of your tummy, but you’ll have just the right amount of sweet and spicy. So just remember….3 minutes, then remove from heat and serve. By the time the hot chocolate cools enough to drink, it is steeped to perfection.
Serve with your choice of garnish! I chose mini marshmallows and a cinnamon stick. The cinnamon and cayenne are a match made in Heaven!
¡Buen provecho y feliz Octubre!
