Hot Chocolate Indulgence

Have you heard that National Cocoa Day is December 13th? That means it will be a good day to treat yourself to a decadent cup of hot cocoa with all the fixings.

The timing is perfect. This is a busy holiday preparation week and you deserve to take a break, sit down, and wrap your hands around a steaming mug of chocolate.

How to Make Indulgent Hot Chocolate at Home

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A Mug of Indulgent Hot Chocolate

Making delicious hot chocolate at home surprisingly is easy and you probably have all the ingredients you need in your kitchen right now. The basic requirements are cocoa powder, sugar, and milk. You'll want a little flavoring, too. Vanilla extract is perfect, but feel free to add some Kahlua or Bailey's Irish Cream (or both) if you want to adultify your hot chocolate.

How to Decorate Your Hot Chocolate Mug

You will need:

White Chocolate Chips

Candy Canes, crushed

If you want to jazz up your hot chocolate mug like I did, you'll want some white chocolate chips and some candy canes. Prepare your mugs in advance.

Crush two candy canes in a zip-top bag and place the pieces onto a small, shallow plate. I used a metal meat-pounding tool to crush the candy canes but you can use whatever tool you have handy.

Melt two ounces of white chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl and microwave on high for about one minute. Stir the chocolate at thirty seconds to get a feel for how much longer you will need to heat the chips. Check every fifteen seconds until the chips are melted. Stir well and pour the melted chocolate onto a small plate.

Dip the rim of each mug into the melted chocolate to coat well. Then dip the mugs into the crushed candy cane.

Set the mugs aside to allow the chocolate to harden. One caution: don't pour your hot cocoa into the mug up to the same level as the decorative white chocolate rim. The hot cocoa will melt the white chocolate and it will drip.

Are you ready to indulge?

How to Make Indulgent Hot Chocolate

Printer Friendly Recipe
Makes Three Eight-Ounce Servings

1/4 cup cocoa powder (not hot cocoa mix)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla per eight-ounce cup, or preferred liqueur
Sweetened whipped cream, optional
candy cane stirrer, optional

Directions

Place the cocoa powder and sugar in a pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup of hot water and stir to combine well. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the milk to the pot and heat until the desired drinking temperature. Pour into prepared mugs and add vanilla or liqueur to flavor as desired.

Top with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and crushed candy cane sprinkles. Add a candy cane as a stirrer, if desired.

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