This Christmas Hot Chocolate is the perfect way to warm your belly this holiday season! A classic Hot Chocolate Recipe is sprinkled with holiday spices for a unique and tasty version of the classic. Extra rich and creamy and the perfect Christmas morning family tradition.
Love a good cup of cocoa? Me too! Try these other favorites: Classic Creamy Hot Chocolate, Nutella Hot Chocolate, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Spiked Cocoa!
RECIPE FEATURES
- Simple Ingredients: Made with ingredients we always have on hand, making this a super simple cocoa.
- Rich and Creamy: Don’t let the ingredient list fool you, just because it’s super easy to make doesn’t mean it lacks in flavor! This cocoa is so rich and creamy and full of chocolate flavor.
- Customizable: Be sure to read through all of the tips to find a few simple ways to customize this recipe.
I love Chirstmas morning. It’s one of my all-time favoiret days of the year for so many reasons beyond the gifts. I live for hearin my son start to wake up and wait for him to sneak into the living room to see if Santa stopped by, even though he’s 13 and fully knows.
We spend the morning in pajamas, wrapped in blankets, and slowly exchanging gifts. But the very first thing we do is whip up a batch of this Christmas Morning Cocoa. It is our favorite tradition, and one I hope my son will continue with his own family one day.
Along with my cocoa, we also make Hot Caramel Apple Cider or Gingerbread Latte‘s, depending on who’s visiting.
CHRISTMAS COCOA INGREDIENTS
Each ingredient should already be a staple in your pantry. For a special treat try making a batch to-go and heading out on a little Christmas Light drive. Warming your belly while you enjoy the festive sights is a wonderful tradition that we look forward to every single year.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is unsweetened chocolate. THIS is where you get that deep rich flavor we all know and love. If you want a lighter, more traditional, chocolate flavor opt for traditional cocoa powder. For a more rich and deep flavor try Dutch processed.
- Granulated Sugar: Because the cocoa powder is unsweetened, we use sugar to give this hot chocolate a perfect sweet finish.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: To achieve that holiday flavor profile I combined cinnamon and nutmeg. My house smelled INCREDIBLE and it added the perfect amount of spice to the drink.
- Salt: Salt is used to help enhance the flavors of added spices and chocolate. Don’t skip this!
- Water: Just a little to help create the chocolate syrup base for the milk.
- Milk: I always suggest using whole milk when making hot chocolate. It adds to the creamy texture giving you a perfect finish. However, you could also use a lower fat with equally delicious results. Pro tip, substitute one cup of milk for half and half or heavy cream. This will give you a more rich creamy texture that is incredible!
- Vanilla Extract: Always use pure vanilla, not imitation.
For my caffeine friends, try my Cinnamon Coffee or Snickerdoodle Latte to get that pep in your step! Or for more belly warming drinks later in the day, whip up my Slow Cooker Apple Cider!
HOW TO MAKE HOT CHOCOLATE FROM SCRATCH
Top with marshmallows, whipped cream, or serve as is. Make sure you adjust the sugar according to taste. We felt this amount was perfect. You could even do with a touch less if we are not looking to overly indulge.
- PREP: Whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg in a medium saucepan. Stir in the water until combined with the dry ingredients.
- HEAT: Turn the heat up to medium. Stir and cook until the chocolate has begun to boil.
- MILK: Whisk in the milk and cook until just warm. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Divide between 4 glasses.
- ENJOY: Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.
HELPFUL TOOLS
- Pot: I love this pot with a pour spout (affiliate) for all of my drink recipes. It makes it super simple to pour into your glasses without any spilling. I also use it for reheating soups and stews.
- Silicone Whisk: If you are using a coated pot you want to avoid using abrasive utensils. A silicone lined whisk (affiliate) is going to be a game changer in your kitchen.
- Mugs: I used these glass mugs (affiliate) for these photos.
Recipe Notes:
This recipe makes 4 small servings or 2 large servings.
I prefer natural cocoa powder for this recipe, which gives it a lighter sharp flavor that works perfectly with the half and half. If you want a more deep flavor, dry Dutch cocoa and replace the half and half with more milk.
This recipe doesn’t need much added to make it delicious. However, there are a few things you can mix in to change things up! Try adding marshmallows, whipped cream topping, caramel sauce, and even crushed candy canes.
Substitute one cup of the milk with half and half or heavy cream. This will make your hot cocoa extra rich and creamy.
Still Hungry? Follow One Sweet Appetite on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Christmas Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- whipped cream or marshmallows optional
Instructions
- Whisk together your cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg in a medium saucepan. Add your water and stir until fully incorporated. Bring to a boil.
- Whisk in the milk and cook until just warm. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Divide between 4 glasses.
- Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.
Notes
Nutrition
Equipment
Did You Make This Recipe?
Share it with me on Instagram @1sweetappetite and follow pinterest for more!
Reader Interactions
Find even more recipes!
Be sure to share it in the comments below and follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram for even more delicious recipes.
Comments & Reviews
Maria @ kitchenathoskins says
Warming hot cocoa with cinnamon and nutmeg! Love the addition of spices and perfect pictures