theo chocolate hot chocolate

the beginning of something beautiful...

While sitting on the warm side of my office window, I enjoyed watching the snow fall outside.  We get quite excited about snow in TN, and the forecasted few inches arrived today as promised.  Visions of thick, rich, creamy hot chocolate drifted through my thoughts throughout the afternoon.  Hot chocolate and snow... (yes, I was working!  one must look away from the excel worksheet on occasion...)

This hot chocolate is adapted from a recipe posted by Yadi; you can find her original recipe here.

I have scaled the recipe to yield a little less than 8 ounces of hot chocolate.  The cup in the pictures is very small, holding about 3 ounces, which is just enough to quench the chocolate craving yet not enough to feel guilty about the calories.

Nutella Chocolate Chocolate Hot Chocolate

Mix all together in small saucepan and heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is steaming:

1 1/2 t Nutella (be sure to lick the spoon!)

2T chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips)

1 fl oz (or 2T) heavy whipping cream

3 fl oz whole milk

Chop and add to steaming milk mixture:

1 ounce theo orange chocolate (this does not scent the hot chocolate orange; however, it blends well with the other flavors to create a smooth, lush warm drink) 

Allow chocolate to melt, then stir to mix well.

Add 1/4 t vanilla (it's really aged Grey Goose and vanilla beans)

Pour into small cups and top with tiny marshmallow if desired.  

Sit back, watch the snow fall and sip the hot chocolate...these ARE the days...

This hot chocolate is rich, and small servings are quite adequate.  Though a bit sweeter and perhaps a bit thinner than THIS hot chocolate, both are absolutely delicious, and well worth 15 minutes of your time to stir together a culinary treat.

sweet dreams...

I visited the theo chocolate factory near Seattle, WA last year.  Here's the link to the blog post, should you desire to read more about chocolate.