Hot Cocoa and a Christmas Favorites Playlist

Hallelujah, it's the last Friday before Christmas! I'm taking another 3-day weekend, and hpefully this one will be less jam-packed than last weekend.

As promised, today I am bringing you two (yes two) recipes for hot cocoa, and a playlist that features all of my favorite Christmas songs!

For my first cocoa recipe, I'm sharing my classic, from-scratch recipe. I learned how to make this when I studied abroad in France. There, we made hot cocoa in a bowl, and let me tell you, it's a great way to enjoy cocoa.

Classic Hot Cocoa

1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder

1 mugful of milk

1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)

1 splash of vanilla extract

1 dash of cinnamon

First, fill your mug with milk to 1-inch below the rim. Pour this milk into a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. While the milk is heating, Combine the cocoa, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and a small amount of milk in the mug. Whisk this together to create a cocoa sludge- you just need to add enough milk to pull it all together. Keep an eye on your milk, and stir frequently to keep milk from scalding. I like to froth my milk as it gets close to hot enough- you just need to heat it to your liking. Once the milk is hot enough, stir it into the cocoa mixture in your mug. Enjoy!

Spiked Peppermint Hot Chocolate

1 shot Peppermint Bark Liqueur (from Eastside Distilling)

1 mug hot milk

This spiked hot chocolate is easy peasy. Simply heat up your milk in a saucepan, pour a shot of Peppermint Bark Liqueur into your mug, and pour the hot milk over the alcohol. Add more liqueur if needed, to taste. Enjoy (but please, seriously, consume responsibly and DO NOT drink and drive)!

And now, for my Best Christmas Ever playlist! I've got 2 songs from Otis Redding- note, my sister says it sounds like he's saying "mayonnaise" on White Christmas. Tell me you don't hear it. I also have Wham's Last Christmas, which I enjoy year-round. And I can't forget Christmas in Hollis. True story: I once got a standing ovation at karaoke when I performed this with my brother. Now you know I can rap.

And since Spotify doesn't have Boney M, here is my favorite Christmas song, the one that gets me in the Christmas spirit:

I hope you have a great weekend. Tell me, what are your plans? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Leave a Comment Boney M, Christmas, Eastside Distilling, hot chocolate, hot cocoa, peppermint bark liqueur, playlist, recipe

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