Cozy Up With These “Oh So Good” Hot Chocolate Recipes
by: Donna Monday
When it’s cold and frosty outside, there’s nothing better than curling up with a nice big mug of homemade hot chocolate. Why pay several dollars for a cup of gourmet hot chocolate when you can easily learn how to make your own delicious hot chocolate drink?
You can make the classic creamy hot chocolate, or get a little adventurous and try the white chocolate or Mexican hot chocolate recipe. If you enjoy giving hot chocolate as a gift, then you may wish to make your own hot chocolate mix and put it in decorative glass jars.
The following hot chocolate recipes can be made the old fashioned way, using a pan and a stovetop. Or, you may wish to purchase a hot chocolate maker to speed things up.
However you decide to make it, you’ll definitely enjoy the aroma and flavors of a delicious hot chocolate drink tickling your taste buds, and warming your tummy during the long winter days and nights.
Creamy Hot Chocolate
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 ½ cups hot water
Marshmallows (optional)
Directions
In large saucepan over medium heat, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla, and salt; mix well. Slowly stir in water. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Top with marshmallows. Store covered in refrigerator. *Will last up to 5 days.
Makes 8 servings.
Easy Mexican Hot Chocolate
3 tablespoons instant hot chocolate mix
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch chili powder
¼ cup milk
¾ cup boiling water
Directions
In a large mug, mix the hot chocolate mix, chocolate syrup, cinnamon, and chili powder. Pour in the milk. Add the boiling water and stir.
Makes 2 servings.
Spicy White Hot Chocolate
3 ¼ cups 2% fat milk
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1 egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Place the white chocolate in a medium metal bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, or in the top half of a double boiler. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally until smooth. Stir in cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Whisk in the egg until smooth.
Gradually whisk in one cup of the milk until completely incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in remaining milk, and heat until hot, but not simmering. (You don’t want a skin to form on top of the milk). Chocolate will be ready to drink when either the taste of the cayenne is masked by the temperature of the milk (the spiciness of the pepper will remain), or when the hot chocolate is at your desired temperature.
Ladle the hot chocolate into mugs and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Makes 4 servings.
Zingy Mocha Hot Chocolate
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup milk
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash hot chili powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
½ cup cold milk
Marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Directions
Combine the chocolate chips and milk in a glass or plastic dish, microwave on high, stirring every 20 – 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Mix in the coffee, cinnamon, and hot chili powder until the instant coffee has dissolved. Stir in the cold milk.
Strain into 2 mugs. Thin with additional milk, if desired. Garnish with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.
Makes 2 servings.
Peanut Buttercup Hot Chocolate
1 (1 oz.) envelope instant hot chocolate mix
2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
Directions
In a mug, prepare chocolate mix as directed on package. Stir in 1 or 2 teaspoons of peanut butter. Enjoy.
Makes 1 serving.
Russian Hot Chocolate
1 oz. vanilla flavored vodka
¾ oz. amaretto liqueur
1 tablespoon instant hot chocolate mix
4 oz. hot milk
Directions
In a coffee mug, pour in the vanilla vodka, amaretto, and add the hot chocolate mix. Pour in the hot milk and stir to blend well.
Makes 1 serving.
Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
11 cups dry milk powder
1 (8 oz.) container powdered non-dairy creamer
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 (16 oz) container instant chocolate drink mix
Directions
Sift together the powdered milk, non-dairy creamer, powdered sugar and instant chocolate drink mix. Store in air tight containers or glass jars for gift giving
To use: Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of mix to 1 cup of water. Add a dash of cinnamon, If desired.
Make 80 servings.
About The Author
© Donna Monday
Love Cookies? All Your favorites here http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com
All You Need To Know About Mexican Cooking Equipment And Utensils
Perhaps you have eaten Mexican food in a top quality Mexican restaurant or even in a Mexican home. If you have, maybe some authentic Mexican cookware or utensils were used to make the dishes. Mexicans use a range of different cooking methods, including baking, slow roasting and deep-frying and they have unique pots and pans for these methods. Mexicans like to use plenty of fresh produce in their cuisine, including spices and herbs, so you will find sharp knives and a mortar and pestle in any Mexican kitchen.
Traditional Mexican Cooking Pots
Ollas, also known as Barros, are deep clay cooking pots. They are perfect for simmering beans, stew or soup and clay is a great medium for cookware because it distributes the heat evenly to avoid burnt spots. Barro means clay or mud and olla means pot. These cooking pots are fine to put over a direct flame all day long.
You do need to warm clay before using it else; it might crack if you suddenly expose it to a high heat. If you are baking, you can let the pot warm up as the oven does. Your Mexican food will have a subtle earthy taste if you cook it in a clay pot.
Comals are used in Mexican cookery and these are big, round griddles made from cast iron, clay, or aluminum. Modern ones normally have a non-stick finish and they are used to roast chilies and warm tortillas.
Cazuelas are for simmering sauces such as mole. A cazuela is a big, round clay dish, which is about six inches deep. The inside is glazed and the outside is either plain or painted in bright colors. Cazuelas usually have handles so you can put them over an open fire safely.
A tortillero is a Mexican tortilla press with two wooden discs or round plates. You put a ball of masa between the plates and press down to make a tortilla. These machines used to be wooden but are normally cast iron now. You can get cheap aluminum ones too but these break easily.
Handy Mexican Cooking Utensils
A metate y mano is found in most Mexican kitchens and this is a platter sized, concave dish made from stone. It sits on three short legs on the table or three long legs so you can pull a chair up to it. There is a large, round stone, which you roll on the s
1000
urface to grind or mix your ingredients.
A Mexican mortar and pestle is called a molcajete y tejolote and this is a small clay, wood or stone bowl with a long cylinder made of the same material. The cylinder is rounded on each end and you use it to pulverize the ingredients in the bowl by rolling the cylinder in a circular motion.
Hot chocolate is a popular Mexican drink and a wooden whisk called a molinillo is used to make froth on the top. You spin the molinillo between your hands to do this. Some are plain and others are highly decorated. The molinillo is a small but significant part of the exciting world of Mexican food customs. Even though it is possible to make delicious Mexican recipes without the proper equipment, it is more fun to use it. Mexican pots and tools look great displayed in the kitchen as well.
By: Chritine Kudra
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
About The Author:
Not having authentic Mexican pots, pans and cooking utensils is no excuse not to make Mexican food! If you need some recipe inspiration, there is plenty to choose from at www.MexicanFoodRecipes.org and you will also find more articles on Mexican cookery and the fascinating history of Mexican food culture.
Mail this post