Storm 578 of this winter is coming. Indeterminate amounts of snow, sleet, and freezing rain are expected. It is 44 degrees out now, with the sun shining bright and beautiful but it is going to get gross tomorrow. With that in mind, here is a recipe to warm up my fellow New Englanders…you’ve still got time to get to the store and storm the spice and baking aisle if you don’t have the ingredients on hand. ‘Cause we all know that’s what us New Englanders do.
Years ago I had a molten chocolate lava cake that had a spicy kick to it. After that I always meant to try my hand at a spicy hot chocolate, but never got around to it. Then I read this post and remembered my apparently not so original idea. My version is below. It reflects my firm belief that more chocolate can never hurt, the darker the better.
1/2 c chocolate chips (Ghirardelli…yum…heaping…it’s not wrong)
1 1/2 c milk
a couple dashes of cinnamon
a dash or two of cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on low to medium heat. Stir until all melted and blended and starts to steam. Pour into a big mug and enjoy some velvety delicious.
Warning: This is a meal in a cup. I am not responsible for any weight gained in the drinking of this decadence. I have no idea how many calories are in it and I don’t want to.
stumblingtoholiness 
Yes! We have always made hot cocoa from scratch, but I never knew the difference between cocoa and hot chocolate until I did this! Now if I’m out of chocolate chips and am forced to make my spicy hot chocolatey drink with cocoa powder, I have to add butter to recreate a bit of that rich creamy experience. It’s not the same, but it does the job in a pinch. 🙂
I never knew the difference either. As a fellow chocolate lover, perhaps you will appreciate the company LA Burdicks. They have a couple shops around the northeast, and one is within a little over an hour from us. We splurge on their hot chocolate about once a year, in the fall. When it cools it is a solid mass in the cup. Delicious!