since we're starting into the first week of december, let's

Baileys doesn't sound so good.

I usually mix soy-milk with pure cocoa powder, some sugar and anise. The soy milk makes it extra creamy and tastes a bit nutty if you get the right one.

After that I'll add some amaretto, or some other sweet clear liquor. Things like rum or whiskey usually ruin the taste, and I think baileys makes it too creamy and sweet

A little bit of baileys would probably be good
Worst case scenario you wind up with hot cocoa and a bottle of baileys

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I make hot chocolate like so:

1. Get some chocolate of whatever brand you prefer (I would recommend against dark chocolate; it didn't taste how I thought it would)

2. Break this chocolate into little bits (chocolate chips will save time)

3. Make a double boiler. To do this, take a saucepan/pot and fill it with water. Then, put a bowl over the sauce pan/bowl.

4. Put the chocolate in the bowl and boil the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn (unlikely)

5. Heat up whole milk but do not boil it to avoid milk fats rising to the top

6. Combine chocolate with milk

7. Add whatever other elements you want as well (peppermint, cinnamon)

This way you don't burn the chocolate in the microwave. You can also make hot white cocoa, but it's VERY sweet.

Am making some Grog today. Well i think its called like that.

I make that with apple juice, apple, orange, cinnamon and rhum.
Boil it up and drink it hot.

Wassail is always worth the work

>>8339130
>The soy milk makes it extra creamy and tastes a bit nutty if you get the right one.

wouldnt i get almond milk if i wanted that kind of flavor?

>>8339134

i'd probably be better off getting a not-so-dark cocoa then if i wanted to taste it still.

>>8339156
>3. Make a double boiler.

what exactly is the difference between direct stovetop conduction and steam convection?

>>8339156
Personally I really like dark chocolate As hot cocoa; cutting out half the milk with some water and also just reducing liquid volume makes it very nice and strong.

>>8339188
Pretty sure it's because you know boiling water is always going to be at 100C, because that's the temperature water boils at, and it won't be any higher. that helps prevent it from burning if the temperature from the burner gets too hot

>>8339188

The presence of water in the double-boiler prevents the temperature from ever exceeding 100C. The problem with doing it directly on the stovetop is that you could easily overheat and ruin the chocolate.

>>8339192
Well, to each their own. I like the taste of dark chocolate, but a dark chocolate cocoa was just too bitter for me.

cioccolata calda.

>double boiler
>500 ml whole milk (other milks are for scrubs)
>120 g 60-69% cacao chocolate
> 20 g cocoa powder
> 20 g corn starch
> 20 g sugar
> pinch of salt
>splash of vanilla
> top with whipped cream if you want. add a splash of chocolate liquor if you like

not too sweet, but rich and thick

File: cioccolata calda con biscotti plasmon a0013875_23355166.jpg (159KB, 367x550px) Image search: [Google]

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Euro in US here.
Hershey's milk chocolate is complete rubbish but their "special dark" (which, at 55% cacao, is what we'd call 'normal' in my home country) is pretty cheap and surprisingly good to use in making milked drinking chocolate.

Melt three-to-four of those special dark squares (they're 1oz/28g each) into 400ml/14oz or so of a 1:1 mixture of skim milk and half-and-half (if you're in the US; if not, mix 3:1 skimmed milk and 20% cream) and divide between two cups.
Froth 50-100ml of skimmed milk.
Divide the foam equally between the two as well as the unfoamed milk portion and serve.

If you like darker chocolate, by all means, use that, but I find using Special Dark to be a happy middle ground that all people can enjoy from those who prefer a sweeter chocolate to those who like a stronger chocolate.

That's my recipe.

There aren't many winter drinks I can recommend that aren't already well-known abroad.

>>8339264
Pretty similar ratios to mine, but thickened with starch for some reason. Italian-language name, too, which is odd. Swiss and Italians don't typically thicken drinking chocolate with starches. There is a type of drinking chocolate that's quite thick, pic related, but that's achieved simply by using far less liquid in the recipe than is normal. It's typically made with darker chocolates and sweeted to taste with added sugar.
In a sec, I'll post a picture of the sort I described above.

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>>8339334
Here's one that looks kinda like the results of the recipe I gave.

Hope this helps.

>>8339334
>Skim milk

Get out of my country, you frenchie

>>8339334
>http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Cioccolata-calda.html

this is more or less the recipe i always use. i've gotta try yours, too, it sounds good