Thanksgiving Ideas

Hot Spiked Cocoa Recipe

Knock the chill off outdoor holiday activities with this tasty twist on homemade hot cocoa. Kahlua, light rum or silver tequila will give it an extra kick.

By Stephen Phillips
Filed under: Thanksgiving, Recipes, Parties

Ingredients:

4 oz. of light rum, silver tequila or Kahlua
1 cup whole milk
1 cup half-and-half
6 tsp. of sugar
1 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped into small pieces
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate chopped into small pieces
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks

Preparation:

If you're making the cocoa to take with you for an outdoor get-together, prepare it the morning of the event, then store and serve it out of an insulated container.

The morning before the outdoor event:

Mix milk, half-and-half, sugar, finely chopped chocolate and brown sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Do not bring to a boil, but allow chocolate and sugar to melt and dissolve until they get hot. Reduce heat. Place half of this mixture into a blender and mix to a frothy consistency. Pour this back into your pan and stir in the vanilla extract.

At the outdoor party site:

Fill your partygoers' cups with 2 ounces of rum, silver tequila or Kahlua. Pour in hot chocolate from a thermos or jug. Stir with a cinnamon stick.