With the cold winter months blowing in and the days getting shorter and shorter, what’s better than waking up at dawn and drinking a warm and soothing hot chocolate. No, I don’t mean the powdered, processed stuff you get in those little packets, I’m talking about the real thing.

Most people have never tasted real hot chocolate. That is a serious felony which needs to be addressed immediately. It’s so easy to make and so worth it! The packets are the easy way out, but who wants easy when you can have heaven in a cup? I mean, seriously!

Once you try this will never go back. So if you are upset that Phil the groundhog saw his shadow on Friday predicting six more weeks of winter, I suggest you try my simple recipe for therapy in a mug.

I started out by chopping the chocolate. The best type of chocolate for this recipe is a chocolate bar. Stay away from chocolate chips – they don’t melt well, which is helpful for a chocolate chip cookie but not in this case. Try different chocolates and find your preference. If you want a bitter flavor, use more dark/ semi-sweet chocolate. If you want it sweeter and more sugar packed, use more milk chocolate. Try white chocolate too, if you are feeling adventurous.

Next, I pour the milk and cream into the pot. If you don’t have half and half or light cream, you can use more whole milk. I like to wait for my cream to get a bit warm before I put my chocolate in, but you can just throw everything in together.

When I first tried corn syrup in hot chocolate, I thought it would be a complete disaster that would result in a hot chocolate too sweet and sugary. But when I tried it, the chocolate bar flavor completely transformed to a new level. It didn’t taste like melted chocolate in cream anymore, the flavors were brought together. You can go without the corn syrup, but I highly suggest you stick to it. If you don’t have dark corn syrup, use molasses or maple syrup.

You’ll know it’s ready when there are no more chunks of chocolate and the mixture is smooth. Keep taste testing to see if it needs more chocolate or corn syrup. This also gives you an excuse to taste test. Ladle the mixture into mugs and serve it right away. If you can’t, cover  it and leave it in the fridge for up to 6 hours. See my “Make Ahead Tip” in the recipe for a longer lasting hot chocolate. Warm it up on the stove or in the microwave.

Time for toppings! Go wild – Whip up some cream in a stand mixer and add 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Spoon this on top of the hot chocolate. Use sprinkles, marshmallows, candy canes, cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or any topping you desire. Or keep it simple with a few mini marshmallows.

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Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 13 minutes

Servings 6 cups

Author Hannah Hasson

Ingredients

• 2 cups light cream or half and half
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chopped or broken
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or broken
• 1 tablespoon dark corn syrup

Instructions

1. Pour the light cream or half and half into a medium sauce pot. Add the milk, chocolates, and corn syrup and stir with a wooden spoon.

2. Cook over low heat on the stove until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Make sure the heat stays low so that the chocolate doesn’t burn.
3. Ladle the hot chocolate into mugs and top it off with your favorite toppings. I like to put whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a mint candy cane.

Recipe Notes

 

Make Ahead Tip:

Let the hot chocolate cool and pour the mixture into an ice cube tray. Freeze the hot chocolate overnight. When you are in the mood for heaven, pop some hot chocolate cubes into a mug and microwave for about 5-10 minutes checking on it every few minutes.