Mexican Hot Chocolate

Winter storm? Bring it. 

Hot chocolate is a pretty big deal in our house. We keep a quart-sized mason jar filled with our homemade hot chocolate mix, which I'm constantly refilling. Hot chocolate for breakfast is not unheard of around here. In the wintertime, on those bitter cold evenings that call for the comfortingest of comfort foods, my husband makes a meal of hot chocolate and peanut butter toast.

Myself, I enjoy the occasional cup of hot chocolate too, but usually lean towards tea on my winter evenings. But last time I was at Plains Art Museum in Fargo, I came upon these discs of Mexican-style chocolate in the gift shop. I bought a package of vanilla discs as well as salted almond, and as a nerd for all things Mexican, I even splurged on a molinillo online. A whisk will work just as well as a molinillo, but I'm all about cheap thrills, and mixing my hot chocolate with a fancy wooden stick is as much entertainment as I need on a Monday evening.

I warmed about two cups of milk (ok, and maybe a little half & half) on the stove. When it was hot (but not boiling), I dropped in half a disc of chocolate, broken into pieces. And then I decided, what the hell, and dropped in another half. Grabbing the molinillo, I rolled the stick between my palms, working fast like I was starting a chocolate fire, creating a thick, foamy concoction as the chocolate melted quickly. A sip - rich, thick, creamy, and satisfying, with a deeper flavor than any Swiss Miss I've tasted.

We'll still be keeping our house hot chocolate mix around, and I'll continue sipping my tea on most winter nights, but when I want a rich chocolatey cuppa, I'll grab my molinillo and start another chocolate fire.

In addition to vanilla and salted almond, there are plenty of other Chocolate Mexicano disc flavors on the Taza website.