Adventures In Comforting Beverages
I’m not a big drinker. In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to go years without imbibing any alcohol. But if I am going to indulge, it’s going to be hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. This is so indescribably delicious that when I went on a Caribbean cruise with my friend Jane a number of years ago, this is what I had every evening while she was enjoying more traditional tropical delights such as Planter’s Punch and piña coladas. As you might imagine, I still come in for a fair bit of mockery over drinking something warm while vacationing in the tropics.
However, I think even Jane would agree that in the heart of winter, a warming drink is just delightful. And this one is both warm and warming…the little bit of alcohol really does warm you up. You can make this by adding a little schnapps to hot cocoa from a mix, of course, but I prefer my from-scratch recipe which I adapted from an old (1934, I think!) Hershey’s cookbook.
It’s so easy…put cocoa, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a pan, and add a little hot water. Whisk it into a paste and bring it to a boil. Keep whisking! Let it boil for a couple minutes, then add in your milk. Bring it to serving temperature (for me, that means a little steam is coming off of it) without boiling it. Put your schnapps into a generous mug (at least 16 oz), then pour the hot chocolate in on top of it. Top it it with a couple marshmallows, if that’s your thing. Actually, I shouldn’t pretend that marshmallows are optional on hot chocolate. They are mandatory! Don’t be a Philistine and skip the marshmallows…
And that’s it! So easy. It’s also quite easy to scale this recipe up as much as required for as many people as need a little winter comfort. And while it does take slightly more effort than using a hot cocoa mix, the taste is lovely and it’s also free of any of the mysterious additives that seem to find their way into any “convenience” food. Also, it uses staples that most everyone already has in their house, with the possible exception of the schnapps and the marshmallow. And let’s be honest…you could make plain hot chocolate without either of those ingredients. It just wouldn’t be as good. Or as warming.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Click here for printable PDF of recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1 oz peppermint schnapps
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups milk
salt
vanilla
marshmallows
DIRECTIONS
Put 1 oz of peppermint schnapps into the bottom of a 16 oz mug.
In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and a pinch of salt; stir in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add milk. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add a dash of vanilla. Pour into the mug over the schnapps, top with marshmallows, and serve immediately.
