Homemade Hot Chocolate

It’s the Christmas season and that means a little holiday indulgence, guilty pleasures and hot chocolate. We have a Christmas Eve tradition in our home of making this delicious homemade recipe with real whipped cream and all, along with popcorn and a showing of A Christmas Story. This hot cup of goodness taste fabulous and sends an inviting smell throughout the house. The recipe to follow makes quite a large batch. The leftovers store well in the fridge and can be reheated to enjoy in the days to follow.

Hot Chocolate

Makes about 9 cups

Active time: 5 minutes

Start to finish: 15 minutes

 12 oz fine quality semisweet chocolate, chopped or in chips  (preferably Callebaut or Valrhona, but a sack of Toll House or Ghirardelli chocolate chips works great, too)

6 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream (this amount DOES NOT include any that may be made into whipped cream)

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Put chocolate in large heatproof bowl. Bring milk, cream, and sugar just to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and pour over chocolate. Let mixture stand 1 minute and then whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and transfer hot chocolate to saucepan. Keep hot chocolate warm over very low heat (do not let boil).

"On hot chocolate: It flatters you for a while, it warms you for an instant; then all of a sudden, it kindles a mortal fever in you." — Marie Marquise de Sévigné

Hot chocolate warming in the pot.

Almost ready....

Cup of goodness.

Christmas is here!