Bourbon Hot Chocolate
Bourbon Hot Chocolate! Rich, smooth, creamy and spiked with bourbon to make all your winter days warmer… Yumm! It’s very easy to make and takes under 10 minutes to get this cozy and classic beverage.
If you’ve ever thought is bourbon whiskey good in hot chocolate? I’ll say YES! Yes it is!
It adds a spicy caramelly flavor that goes very well with chocolate. Ah, it also adds a boozy deliciousness to the hot chocolate to keep you warm on a chilly evening. So cozy up, grap your cup, a book or turn on the TV to watch your fav movie!
I’ve had some Bourbon whiskey hanging around since Thanksgiving. I knew I wanted to use it in a recipe but I didn’t have it clear what kind of recipe until just last week I had that “Ahh-hah” moment and knew exactly what I was going to make with it.
So, I though why not to add a little bourbon, sure it’s more flavorful than most liqueurs, but the oak notes pair nicely with the rich dark chocolate. My friends, you won’t regret it any bit!
Book or movie. Bourbon. Chocolate. Marshmallow. Yes, PLEASE!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Store-bought hot chocolate mixes can have a lot of ingredients, many of which you don’t really need to make great hot chocolate! (oils, stabilizers, preservatives, etc…) All you need to make your own hot chocolate is:
Plant based-milk: I went for an oat-milk with vanilla flavor but you also can use almond milk or any other milk of your preference.
Cocoa powder: The essential ingredient to any hot chocolate, this gives us that rich, dark chocolate taste we are looking for. Dutch Processed Cocoa is even more intense.
Cacao baking bar: I used a 100% dark chocolate bar. It adds thickness and a stronger chocolate flavor. You also can use a 70% to 80% dark chocolate bar. Just look for any bar that’s not labeled bittersweet.
Cinnamon Stick, anise, cloves: Gives this hot chocolate and extra kick of holiday spice and add a warm flavor and aroma to this recipe.
Coconut sugar: To complement the dark, bitter flavor of the chocolate. I used coconut sugar to add more depth of flavor and keep things refined sugar-free, but you can also use organic cane sugar.
Pinch of sea salt: It enhances the flavor of our hot chocolate and helps subdue the bitterness of chocolate and highlight sweet notes.
HOW TO MAKE BOURBON HOT CHOCOLATE
- In a medium saucepan, add the milk.
- and warm spices.
3. Add the cocoa powder and whisk.
4. Then, add the chocolate bar. Let melt and stir. Finish adding sugar, pinch of salt and bourbon. Simmer, whisk, pour and top. That’s it!
FINAL TIPS
- If your plant-based milk doesn’t come with vanilla flavor, I recommend to add to the preparation 1 tsp of vanilla extract. It’ll give a nice taste!
- You can’t swap cinnamon sticks for ground cinnamon as the drink is not cooked long enough for the flavor to impart from the sticks.
- Use a hand mixer to help the cocoa powder to combine well and before serving, use it again to create a foam layer on the top.
- I like to garnish with vegan and sugar-free marshmallow. Do they exist? Yaaas, you find them easly online. For extra fancy, I also top with a white cacao butter caramel ( I share below in my card recipe) and sprinkle powder cinnamon for extra fancy
You’ll like every bit of it. It’s finger-lickin’ good! Enjoy, friends!🌞
Serve this delicious Bourbon Hot Chocolate with:
Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks
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Bourbon Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 4 cups plant-based milk vanilla flavor
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 anise
- 5 cloves
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder Dutch
- 75 gr chocolate 100% cacao
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp bourbon or 1tbsp for a stronger flavor
White cacao butter caramel
- ¼ cup melted cacao butter
- 1 tbsp coconut milk powder
- 1½ tbsp sugar powder sugar-free
For Serving (optional)
- marshmallows vegan and sugar-free
- white cacao butter caramel
- cinnamon powder
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat milk and spices (cinnamon, anise, cloves) over medium – high heat until it starts to steam (do not boil).
- Reduce the heat and add the cocoa butter and whisk until combine. Then, add the chocolate bar and stir until this has melted completely. Bring the mix to a slow simmer.
- Once the mixture is simmering, add sugar, pinch of salt and bourbon to the hot chocolate and stir to combine.
- Remove the hot chocolate form the heat and serve with marshmallows, cacao butter caramel and cinnamon powder. Enjoy!
Cacao butter caramel (optional)
- Melt the cacao butter using the double boiling method or microwaving in intervals of 30 seconds to avoid the cacao burns. Then, add the coconut milk powder and sugar powder. Give it a good stir to combine all the ingredients
Notes
- If your plant-based milk doesn’t come with vanilla flavor, I recommend to add to the preparation 1 tsp of vanilla extract. It’ll give a nice taste!
- You can’t swap cinnamon sticks for ground cinnamon as the drink is not cooked long enough for the flavor to impart from the sticks.
- Use a hand mixer to help the cocoa powder to combine well and before serving, use it again to create a foam layer on the top.
- I like to garnish with vegan and sugar-free marshmallow. Do they exist? Yaaas, you find them easly online. For extra fancy, I also top with a white cacao butter caramel ( I share below in my card recipe) and sprinkle powder cinnamon for extra fancy