Easy Gourmet Coffees and Hot Chocolate At Home!

What could be more special than making your own gourmet coffees and hot chocolate/cocoa at home, especially during the winter months?

It’s easier than you think! You’re home anyway, so why not go free-style and experiment with some “hot treats” to help you pillage your way through winter on frosty mornings or chilly nights!

It’s also a great way to use up leftover candy from the holidays. Candy, especially chocolate, can instantly boost your latte, hot cocoa, hot chocolate or coffee to an A+ rating. There are also other ideas at the bottom of this post for using leftover candy (besides just in hot drinks).

Latte Lowdown: A latte is very strong coffee with steamed milk. To knock off at latte at home, make a very strong pot of coffee (double or triple your usual strength). In saucepan, bring milk to the point of steaming. Remove from stove and pour into coffee cup with your strong coffee. Try 2/3 mug of hot milk, 1/3 mug of strong coffee. Add a dash of cinnamon for that extra “healthy” boost. You may want to add more or less coffee or milk to tailor it to your personal liking.

Gourmet Latte: Make the Basic Latte above and add your choice(s) of the following to the Steaming Milk:

1. Pieces of your favorite chocolate bar (such as caramel, mint, white, light or dark chocolate).
2. Break up a piece of two of leftover chocolates (such as chocolates filled with caramels, strawberry filling or vanilla filling, etc.).
3. Break up pieces of Peppermint Bark or Candy Canes (great way for using up leftover candy after the holidays).
4. For an Eggnog latte, simply add a few splashes of your favorite Eggnog that you can buy at your local grocery store in the dairy dept.
5. Simple syrups, even low-cal “skinny syrups” can be found in stores such as World Market and Home Goods. They come in a variety of flavors from vanilla to caramel and everything in between. Add a splash or two.

Gourmet Coffee – don’t want a latte? Turn your favorite brewed coffee into a gourmet treat by adding a small piece of your favorite chocolate bar or break off a small piece of leftover holiday chocolates (plain or filled) or add grocery store eggnog. Want to add some “extra merriment?” Add a splash or two of Bailey’s Irish Cream or “real” eggnog!

Gourmet Hot Cocoa:  Have a favorite chocolate bar or leftover filled chocolates? Heat up your milk and instead of adding store bought hot chocolate powder, break up pieces of your favorite chocolate bar or chocolate candy and stir into the milk until completely melted. Leftover chocolate filled candy (i.e., chocolate with mint filling, or caramel filling, etc.), can be added to steamed milk for a unique hot cocoa.

For White Peppermint Hot Chocolate/Cocoa: Add pieces of a white chocolate bar and a few crushed pieces of candy canes.

Instead of Marshmallows in your traditional hot chocolate/cocoa:  Add fun and colorful Peeps such as snowmen or other holiday designs. Kids will particularly enjoy this (but I like ‘em too!).

For that cocktail touch: Add some peppermint schnapps, Bailey Irish Cream or Frangelico (Liqueur) to your cocoa/hot chocolate.

FAMILY FUN: Got kids? Making hot chocolate together can be family fun. You prepare the hot milk, layout some assorted candy (such as candy canes, chocolate bars, Peeps, etc.) and let the kids pick and choose what they think you should put into their hot milk. Of course, if they’re young children, you may need to give a lot of guidance, otherwise their hot chocolate might be 90% chocolate! LET THEM EXPERIMENT (who knows, it may bring out their cooking skills!).  And don’t forget to have a bowl of popcorn ready to enjoy with their hot drinks.

COST-SAVING TIP: It’s after Christmas and stores are marking down their candy canes and all kinds of chocolates.  It’s a great time to get a bargain and check out other uses for candy (besides simply popping it into your mouth):

OTHER USES FOR LEFTOVER CHOCOLATES, CANDY CANES OR PEPPERMINT BARK: Crush them for toppings on cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Add crushed pieces in a blender with milk, yogurt and vanilla ice-cream for a snow blizzard smoothie that would make even Frosty the Snowman jealous! Use leftover candy canes as swizzle sticks in your hot chocolate, cocoa or coffee.

It’s going to be a long winter – so this is the perfect time to up your game with your own “at home” designer coffee and cocoas for you or your whole family to enjoy!