Saturday, February 13, 2016

SPICY MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE #recipe @AbbottMysteries





In mid-February, we welcome thoughts of bright flowers, chocolate and just having fun with people we love. Valentine’s Day is a perfect chance to indulge and be indulged. In our area it’s a good distraction from snow and cold, even though the late day sun on the snow can be beautiful through a window.




Hot chocolate is perfect for a warm and sharing moment and it’s even better with a little something extra.


I recently came across a couple of references to Spicy Hot Chocolate and Mexican Hot Chocolate, something I thought would be fun to share with friends and relatives.  Because we love you Mystery Lovers Kitchen readers, Victoria and MJ carefully searched out recipes and tested them until we found the right configuration of ingredients and spiciness. We persevered, comparing the merits of cocoa and bar chocolate, coconut milk and cream and a variety of spices in varying quantities. 

MJ had some Adobo chili powder and thought she’d try that. Huh. Turns out Adobo has garlic and onion in it and that combo didn’t do our chocolate any favors. 

Our testers had some strange expressions on their faces after the Adobo experiment. This sent MJ off to Chilly Chilies, a hot shop specializing in hot sauce and spices, right in our snowy little village and online too, of course.




 By the way, we thought you might like these interior shots including the guy who had a bit too much hot sauce.


 They sent me home with ANCHO chili, a flavorful, medium spicy powder that did the trick.  We have now settled on ancho chili powder, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Our best results were with good chocolate, chopped and melted with the other ingredients. When our next batch of Penzey’s wonderful cocoa arrives, we’ll have to give the cocoa versions another try

We were all very happy with the final results and will add it to our February faves. We know you’ll all make your own changes and also make suggestions. We’ll be glad to get them. There are worse things than making spicy hot chocolate variations. 

 SPICY MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE



All you need is:

2 cups of 2 % milk
2  cup of light cream (we used 5 %)
6 – 7  ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate, plus extra for grating
1/4 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp ancho chili powder (this had a little bit of kick to it but not to much for us)
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp good quality vanilla
¼ tsp salt
½ cup whipping cream, optional
Grated chocolate for topping

ALL YOU DO IS:



Chop 6 ounces of chocolate. Grate a bit extra into a separate small dish. 


Combine all ingredients, except whipping cream, in a saucepan.  



 Heat slowly over medium heat until well blended and chocolate is melted.  You can try a whisk or give it a few whirs with an immersion blender to smooth it out. 


Whip cream if you’re using and grate a bit of extra chocolate.


Serves four or sometimes three. Ahem. 

Pour into mugs, top with dollops of whipping cream and grated chocolate. Enjoy!  


Of course, if someone you love doesn’t like spicy (no names mentioned) make theirs separately in a small pot and let everyone be happy.  




Speaking of love, we're mad about our readers and about the cover of our forthcoming fifth in the book collector series:


The Hammett Hex is available for pre-order HERE   We hope you love this idea!



19 comments:

  1. Can't wait to try later today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. You are welcome, Dee! Thanks for coming by. Hugs, MJ/VA

      Delete
  3. Ooh, just what we need. Some brilliant weather person around here keeps telling me that with the wind chill the temps around here will be -38 degrees (yes, that's minus). Send warm thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel your pain, Sheila. It's minus forty-five celsius with the windchill here. My husband insisted on going for his walk. Now there will be hot chocolate. Hugs. MJ

      Delete
  4. the hot chocolate sounds delightful--and love the pix too! Stay warm up there, and Sheila too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lucy, it's perishing! I am thinking Key West thoughts to warm my soul. Hugs. MJ

      Delete
  5. SWEET! It looks delicious. Love the measuring cups, too. ;) Shared the pretty pix on Pinterest.

    ~ Daryl / Avery

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Daryl! I appreciate that. Anything to do with Valentine's is always fun. Hugs. MJ/VA

    ReplyDelete
  7. I did indeed give this hot chocolate recipe a go this morning. I made 1/2 a batch. I only had 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate, so I used bittersweet for the balance. I also used 2 difference kinds of chili, 1/2 tsp ancho & 1/4 tsp chipote chile pepper. I like it! It will heat up your tummy :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have always wanted to try Mexican Hot Chocolate, love hot chocolate with cinnamon, and this recipe fits the bill! Thanks for sharing ~ Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And to you, Celia. We hope you like the chocolate. We had fun experimenting! Hugs. MJ/VA

      Delete
  9. Hot chocolate always sounds like the perfect thing. You can also add a touch of booze, too.
    Sending you warm thoughts. Wish I could do more.
    I hear it's been warm enough that the maple sap for syrup is already running and being tapped in some locations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Libby! It has been warm, but it's minus 40 Celsius with the windchill today. Tomorrow will be just as bad. Maple syrup will be coming in March though so that will be great. Hugs.

      Delete
  10. I'm being completely honest here - on Saturdays I always look forward to finding out what the lovely ladies of Victoria Abbott will be cooking in the Mystery Lovers Kitchen! I drink hot chocolate every single day for breakfast, but I've never tried it spicy… I already have a really good mix that I like (Dagoba Organic Drinking Chocolate), but I'm going to add the chili powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt tomorrow morning and give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh boy, Nicole. I hope you like it! If not, will you forgive us? XO MJ/VA

      Delete