Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

It's the most hot-chocolatey tiiiiime of the year.....isn't that how the song goes? Well, maybe it should. As I was in the middle of making this Nutella hot chocolate a few weeks ago, I got to thinking, "Man, I bet gingerbread hot chocolate would be great too." Turns out, I was right! After a little digging, I found that it seems to work best if you make a gingerbread syrup first and add that to your milk. (Maybe because all those spices don't dissolve as well as some other things?) So that's the route that I went. I added a little more variety of spices to my mix, and I think it gives it a bigger flavor profile.

Gingerbread Syrup, makes about 3/4 cup.

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Hot Chocolate, serves 2

2 cups milk
3 tablespoons gingerbread syrup
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons sugar

For the syrup, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan, mix well, and bring to a light boil over medium heat. Turn the mixture down to low-medium heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. It should thicken over time and become like a maple syrup consistency.

When the syrup is done, warm the milk over low heat and add in the sugar, cocoa powder, and syrup. Pour into a mug and top with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired. Refrigerate any leftover syrup in an airtight container.

You can vary the amount of cocoa powder, sugar, and syrup levels to your particular liking. You could also use this syrup in a latte or a cocktail as well. Last weekend I had a few friends over, and we made my husband's family Christmas cookie recipe and drank Nutella hot chocolate, but oh man, this would have been a great choice too! It's recipes like this that keep my chin up through the cold winters here in Missouri. Hope you'll give it a try! xo. Laura

Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman, Photography: Laura Gummerman and Janae Hardy. Photos edited with Stella from The Signature Collection.