hot chocolate with cinnamon and whisky

Nik Sharma

Hey Friends, I’m a multi-award-winning and best-selling cookbook author and photographer.

cinnamon spiced hot chocolate with whisky

What would the winter holiday season be without a cup of rich hot chocolate! There’s something comforting when you sip into a cup of steaming hot and sinfully indulgent rich chocolate merged into creamy milk. This hot chocolate is decadent and every bit indulgent with the goodness of dark chocolate, the warmth of freshly ground cinnamon and a dash of whisky.

Christmas tree

Whisky is another flavor that I love to use as an ingredient during the holidays. It infuses an extra level of warmth and richness to foods and I find it excellent when added to barbecues, desserts and sweet cocktails. So yes, I added some whisky in here! Chocolate and whisky with cinnamon, it’s the perfect combination of rich, earthy rustic flavors. The whisky here is just the right amount to give it flavor without being boozy. If whisky isn’t your thing, you can leave it out. 

hot chocolate with marshmallows

Have fun with the garnishes, it’s the holidays treat yourself a little! 

peppermint hot chocolate with cinnamon and whisky

hot chocolate with cinnamon and whisky

yields : 4 servings

ingredients

4 cups whole milk
1 cup (5 3/4 ounces) dark chocolate chips, unsweetened
1 cup (6 1/8 ounces) milk chocolate chips, sweetened
1 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground + a little extra for dusting
1/4 cup whisky
a  few marshmallows for garnishing (optional)
4 peppermint sticks (optional)

1. Place the milk in a thick bottomed saucepan. Heat the mixture on medium-low flame until the milk begins to steam with constant stirring. Reduce the flame to a gentle simmer.
2. Add the chocolate and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the hot milk and whisk constantly by hand until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the milk from the stove and mix in the whisky.
3. Pour the hot chocolate into serving mugs and top them off with a few marshmallows and dust with the extra ground cinnamon. Serve with the hot chocolate with the peppermint sticks and extra marshmallows on the side.

13 Responses

  1. i am not a whisky person but i could see myself loving this. this is the season to splurge 🙂 your photographs are just stunnnning.

  2. Fun fun fun!!! I only like whisky when it's mixed in fun cocktails like this ;} It is however my hubby's drink of choice so we're talking win-win here! Cheers!

  3. Definitely a treat. I could use a hot cup of cocoa right now (probably sans the whiskey at this time in the morning thought). 🙂

  4. You have the most innovative recipes & gorgeous pictures always. Chocolate. YUM. Whisky. YUM.
    Happy Holidays my friend!

  5. Between you and Simi, you have sold me on dark moody backgrounds and I need to learn to do this. Your hot chocolate with whiskey looks sinfully delicious and I plan on making this on Christmas as my special treat. So well done!

  6. I adore this! I just made hot chocolate from scratch for the first time the other day and couldn't think why I never did it before — it is so delicious and miles above the powder! When we made it we were thinking about adding whiskey, but all we had was good scotch and that seemed like a little bit of a waste… Next time we have some regular old Jack on hand, I'd love to make this. Love your bokeh Christmas tree, too!

  7. You had me at Whiskey! What a fabulous hot chocolate Nik. And of course, gorgeous photos that make me want to reach in and grab that cup of cocoa.

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