Last week I saw my first snow flurry of the season, and suddenly I was a 6-year-old kid again, wearing my pajamas inside-out, doing snow dances and praying for a thick blanket of white to have transformed the world by the time I woke up in the morning. That’s not to say I actually believed those little flurries would amount to anything, but the excitement was the same.
Of all the seasons of the year, the holiday season is by far my favorite. There is a warmth to this time of year — the sights, smells and sounds that transform the world into a more beautiful place, just like that first pristine snow. The first thing I do the day after Thanksgiving is turn on Christmas carols and fill a pot on the stove with variety of fruits, juices and spices that make the whole house smell festive within minutes. Once the ambience is appropriately established, the real seasonal preparations begin.
Even the act of decorating every corner of the house is dwarfed in comparison to the baking and cooking that consumes the holiday season in my family. Giving holiday cookies and candies to friends and family as gifts is a tradition that extends back longer than I can remember. When I recall Christmases past, it seems as though my mom was in the kitchen every minute of the day, covering every surface of our kitchen with fudge, English toffee and other delicious delights. As the days got shorter and colder, the warmth of our kitchen seemed only to increase.
My own contribution to the season has always been hot cocoa. I think it goes back to the first time I saw “The Santa Clause” when I was 8 years old, and Judy the Elf comes in with what looks like the most delicious hot chocolate. From that moment on, I was on a mission to make the perfect cup, and for a chocolate lover like me, that meant the richest, creamiest hot cocoa. Along the way various images have inspired my journey, from a distant memory of Ernie drinking his cocoa with two big marshmallows, to the divine-looking drinking chocolate served with love and tradition in “Chocolat.”
I’m hardly a staunch traditionalist when it comes to my cocoa. I’ll add cinnamon, mint, orange zest or even chili powder to a warm brew. I’ve used cocoa powder of all kinds, as well as baking chocolate, chocolate chips and even candy bars for the requisite chocolate. I’ve used water, milk (skim, whole and everything in between), half and half, and cream at various points. And, on one especially cold weekend in Montreal, it seemed only practical to add as many kinds of alcohol to our cocoa as we could manage. (Amaretto was my favorite, though Goldschlager and peppermint schnapps were also tasty.)
Throughout the years, and many batches of cocoa, I’ve learned that technique is at least as important as ingredients. Put cocoa powder straight into the liquid, and you’ll get a lumpy result. Try to melt bars or chips of any kind into the liquid, and they never fully combine and the product has an odd consistency. The most reliable recipe I’ve developed is to the right.
To that base you can easily add whatever you desire, either to the whole batch or to individual cups. It’s also simple to adjust the proportion of chocolate and sugar to milk, so feel free to add more or less as you desire. Then pour yourself a cup, and have a happy holiday!
Ingredients:
4 cups milk
Equal parts sugar and cocoa powder
(This is generally between half a cup and a whole cup, depending on how chocolatey you want your cocoa to be.)
Directions:
-Heat the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Be sure not to scald the milk.
-Measure the cocoa powder into a liquid measuring cup, and add just enough of the hot milk to form a thick syrup. Start with about a tablespoon of milk, which will result in a paste-like consistency when you mix it. Continue to add milk bit by bit until the syrup is smooth and easy to pour.
-Slowly add the chocolate syrup to the milk while stirring.
Sarah’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at s.brummett@cavalierdaily.com.
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