The weather outside is frightful, but my drinks are so delightful

November 17, 2009 10:28 AM

Recipefilter - It's winter(ish) time in my town, and I love seasonal flavored drinks, but I want to make my own (from scratch would be fun). Please recommend hot cocoa / chocolate recipes, coffee flavorings and the like.
posted by filthy light thief to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Best hot cocoa I ever made involves milk warmed over a stove, and then you whisk together a tablespoon of cocoa powder and two tablespoons of sugar, and then whisk it into the milk -- then you heat it again, and whisk in a couple ounces of dark chocolate cut up into bits. Whisk until it's all melted in.

As for coffee/cocoa flavorings -- a bit of amaretto is nice.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:35 AM on November 17, 2009

Quick and easy:

Warm chocolate milk in a pan on the stove at a low heat. Once heated, remove from the stove and stir in Peppermint Schnapps/Creme de Menthe/Kahlua/your preference.

Ladle into mugs and top with whipped cream.

Excellent way to warm up and relax on a chilly night.
posted by prettymightyflighty at 10:44 AM on November 17, 2009

make sure to buy good cocoa – hersheys, scharffen berger, and ghirardelli don't cut it. my go-to cocoas are droste (though it's a bit unsubtle) , and callebaut (though it's a bit pricy).

For each cup:

1) combine 1T cocoa, 2T sugar, a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg, a splash of vanilla and enough milk to make a thick paste.

2) Add paste to 8oz of hot (not boiling) milk and stir until smooth.

3) Add up to 2oz of good scotch, dark chocolate, a dash of orange liqueur, amaretto, peppermint, vanilla, orange flower water... whatever you've got.

4) garnish with fresh meringues, candy canes, cinnamon sticks...
posted by mr. remy at 10:45 AM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

Try replacing regular milk with evaporated milk or even condensed milk for extra richness. I add evaporated milk to chai and coffee - it's probably really good in hot cocoa.
posted by mokeydraws at 10:45 AM on November 17, 2009

My roomate has a milk frothing wand like this one. I think they can be had for like $10. It's pretty much the greatest thing ever for hot drinks. Stick it in your hot chocolate to get that extra coffee chop something.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:49 AM on November 17, 2009

Heat the milk of your choice and a hunk of Mexican table chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita are two brands that I see in the grocery store around here) in a pan on the stove. Froth it with a frothing wand or go low tech with a molinillo. Add Kahlua to taste.
posted by jennyb at 10:55 AM on November 17, 2009

Trader Joe's sells a Wintry Blend coffee that I love. It's really just dark roasted coffee beans with some whole spices thrown in - cloves, cinnamon & peppercorns. They get ground along with the beans and gives the coffee a great festive taste. You could experiment with making your own blend with whatever spices you like.
posted by thejanna at 11:04 AM on November 17, 2009

The best winter drink bar none. Mulled cider: the same recipe as mulled wine but use a strong, dry scrumpy cider instead of the wine. Keep a lid on so you don't lose too much alcohol and sweeten with honey or sugar. Perfect in a thermos on snowy walks or out ice skating.
posted by turkeyphant at 11:05 AM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

When I worked Thursday night shifts at my college job, I definitely didn't bring a thermos of hot cocoa with mint Bailey's in it along with me.

When I was sick a couple weeks ago, Hot Buttered Rums made me forget my misery for a little while (shot of dark rum in a mug, fill the rest of the way with hot water, add a small pat of butter and brown sugar to taste... yummm).

If you're into non-alcoholic drinks, a bit of chili/cayenne powder in high-quality hot cocoa is delicious.
posted by oinopaponton at 11:07 AM on November 17, 2009 [3 favorites]

I like my hot chocolate with a shot of hazelnut syrup and some cinnamon. Topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. And possibly just a touch more cinnamon.
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:16 AM on November 17, 2009

Just imagine your hot cocoa or coffee as a blank canvas.

You can add any of the following:
- a single flavoring (extracts or liqueurs): vanilla, almond, licorice, raspberry, orange, coconut, etc.
- chai spices (Allspice, Black pepper, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander seed, Ginger, Nutmeg and Star anise)
- cinnamon and cayenne
- a mint candy at the bottom of your cup

Also, cheap teas (doesn't every office kitchen have a ton of them) with strong flavorings can be overpowering alone. But if you make your hot cocoa with the tea, they can add a little extra something. Orange spice teas makes a great hot cocoa.

Of course, there's always using egg nog (homemade or otherwise) as creamer in your coffee.
posted by annaramma at 11:22 AM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pumpkin spice coffee recipe
posted by runningwithscissors at 11:45 AM on November 17, 2009

Amaretto, amaretto, amaretto. Good chocolate. Organic milk.
posted by notsnot at 11:51 AM on November 17, 2009

I second the Drostes chocolate. Any from scratch cocoa that you make will beat the prepackaged ones. A little real vanilla flavoriing will make it outstanding.
posted by chocolatetiara at 12:01 PM on November 17, 2009

OK, the BEST kind of hot and chocolate drink you will ever, EVER have is Jamaican cocoa tea.

The recipe is on the site, but you need these cocoa balls to make it. I recently bought some from this vendor.

1 Jamaican Chocolate Ball
3 tbsp. Sugar
¼ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 quart Water
A pinch of Salt.
3 Cinnamon Leaves or 2 Cinnamon Sticks


Grate Jamaican chocolate ball in a plate. Bring the water to boil in the meantime, and then add chocolate and cinnamon to the pot of boiling water.

Allow the tea to boil for fifteen to twenty minutes. Sweetened to taste then remove cinnamon.

Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy your Jamaican hot chocolate with a friend or relative.

It tastes like NO other hot and chocolate drink you ever had. Although I really, really love hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee and it's my go to drink when people want to go out for coffee), this is 1000x times better. It doesn't taste like a tea, even though it's called that. This drink is probably one of the single best memories from my childhood. After moving to the states when I was 4, I hated hot chocolate because it didn't taste like what I thought it would be.

NOTE: do not use anything other than a cocoa/chocolate ball, it will not taste the same.
posted by alice ayres at 12:09 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

step 1: make hot cocoa (either by mix, or by melting chocolate in a pan and adding milk and a splash of vanilla and heating till yummy).

step 2: add booze. I tend towards either chocolate liquor or coffee liquor, sometimes amaretto.

the amount of booze varies depending on what kind of day i've had until then. :)
posted by rmd1023 at 12:30 PM on November 17, 2009

A popular winter drink here in Egypt is sahlab. Its a thick, milky drink with any combination of cinnamon, raisins, pistachios, and shredded coconut. You generally need to buy a special powder to make it (which I'm sure you could order online), but this recipe doesn't call for it.

Another popular drink here is sweetened cinnamon milk. I can't find any recipes online, but I think its just milk, cinnamon, and sugar.

Both are served hot.
posted by anonymous78 at 12:32 PM on November 17, 2009

Hot cocoa (I make a paste with 3:2 sugar to cocoa in water to make a thick paste, add milk to taste, more cocoa or sugar at the end as desired) is very good with: vanilla, most alcohols that you would expect, cinnamon, cinnamon + something spicy, cardamom (also good in coffee), ginger, almond extract.
posted by jeather at 12:45 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

a really good cup of coffee with a shot of jameson whiskey in it. heaven.

sunday afternoon ritual with the boyfriend - grind beans, make coffee, get a big mug of it with a little cream and sugar. taste. go "mmm, nice" add whiskey. taste again. go "MMMM delicious!"
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:50 PM on November 17, 2009

If I'm only making a mug or two's worth, I make hot chocolate in the microwave so I don't have to wash a pot. Basically the same as EC's method at the top of this thread: Mix sugar, cocoa & a little milk to make a paste, stir in milk to fill the mug, microwave, stir again. Or, more decadently, break up some pieces of dark chocolate (maybe one or two oz? depends how intense you want it), microwave till melted, stir in some cream (this would be a ganache, I think), then add milk, stir, microwave till hot, stir more.
posted by yarrow at 1:48 PM on November 17, 2009

There is nothing quite like Irish coffee.

And here are a couple of great hot chocolate recipes from cooking light.com.
posted by bearwife at 4:32 PM on November 17, 2009

Frangelico! Wheeeeeeeee!
posted by Madamina at 4:57 PM on November 17, 2009

Champurrado is a nice variation on hot chocolate that is served during the holidays in Mexico and elsewhere under various names throughout Latin America. It's thickened using masa harina, the fine-ground corn flour also used in making tamales and the like.

There are many variations, of course, but here's a nice basic recipe.
posted by drlith at 5:29 PM on November 17, 2009

starbucks has a fall/winter drink called a caramel apple spice, which is basically just hot apple juice with cinnamon syrup (you can buy this at starbucks or you can just do what i do and throw some cinnamon and sugar into the hot apple juice). you can top it with whipped cream and caramel sauce and it seriously tastes like apple pie in a cup.
posted by kerning at 6:15 PM on November 17, 2009