Our peppermint hot chocolate with crushed candy canes is the perfect Christmas treat when you need some warmth and comfort! Everyone needs something warm and comfortable during the winter, and nothing, NOTHING beats cozying up by the fire with a hot chocolate!
How was your Thanksgiving weekend? Ours was perfect.
We slept in until 9.30 on Sunday, we ate pasta three times in a row, I worked out 3 times (wow I know), we went wine tasting in the Willamette Valley, we watched endless movies, did a shit ton of wedding planning and drank peppermint hot chocolate with crushed candy canes!
Bring on the lazy long weekends!!!
Although I did come to the realisation that I suck at doing nothing. I am the worst at just sitting still. So in light of that, I decided to get my cooking pants on, and come up with a The Home Cook's Kitchen Christmas menu.
I kind of fell behind on the Thanksgiving menu, because to me personally, Christmas is much more of a celebration and excitement (considering I'm not from America!). While we did have a Friendsgiving celebration, we didn't feel the need to do anything for Thanksgiving and most of our recipes were the same for Christmas!
So I decided to come up with a bunch of awesome salads, sides, and drinks that embraces your inner Christmas spirit!
And guess what?! It's HOT CHOCOLATE SEASON! And more importantly, PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATE SEASON!
I think I've said this before, but Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday of the year! Especially in Australia. Mum and I have been coming up with our Christmas menu for the last couple of weeks via Facebook phone calls, and I'm not really sure who is more excited!
So far we've got recipes for; some beautiful salads, prawns, a huge turkey, veggie burgers, pavlova and chocolate tart, and a number of other things! I love that Australian Christmas' are usually pretty healthy too.
It's so hot at that time of year, you don't really feel like tucking into massive plates of roast vegetables, eggnog and Christmas puddings. So we instead have light meals and desserts, accompanied by endless amounts of beers and white wine!
Am I convincing you to come to Australia for Christmas yet?
In light of that, I do feel as though I want to make the most of the pre-Christmas winter season, which is why I'm making a bunch of recipes that can cater for Winter Christmas friends and Summer Christmas friends!
Which is always why I decided to kick off the festive season with a peppermint hot chocolate with crushed candy canes because I love hot chocolate, and I love peppermint and I feel as though you can't go wrong with the two combinations!
This recipe is ridiculously easy to make too, and requires just a simple saucepan, some easy ingredients and of course, some crushed candy canes for that festive feel! And yeah, it's not healthy, but sometimes you just gotta go for it - everything in balance right?
So happy Christmas planning!!!!!! This is the first recipe of what I hope to be, an epic Christmas half month! And yay for Christmas!
Peppermint Hot Chocolate With Crushed Candy Canes
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups milk
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoon cocoa
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
- .5 oz candy canes crushed
- 4 tablespoon cream whipped
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together milk and cocoa.
- Add sugar and chocolate chips.
- Slowly heat milk over medium heat until warm, not boiling.
- Add peppermint extract and stir.
- Continue to heat hot cocoa until it has reached your desired temperature - approximately 10 - 15 minutes depending on how high stove is. Keep tasting until desired heat has been reached.
- Taste, and adjust peppermint extract and sugar to suit taste.
- Serve with whipped cream, a dusting of cocoa and the crushed candy canes.
What's your favourite winter drink? hot chocolate, yay or nay?
Afraid you'll miss a post? Subscribe today and receive updates on new posts, and bonus recipes and information! Follow along on instagram, facebook for food inspo and adventures, or see what I'm loving on pinterest!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Now this is the kind of hot cocoa I want! Yum!