frothy peppermint hot cocoa

I made this Peppermint Hot Cocoa

over the weekend and it was a big hit!

The espresso powder adds just a bit of richness

and doesn’t overpower the taste at all.

It’s light and airy and oh so frothy!!

Frothy Peppermint Hot Cocoa 

1 ½ cups whole milk

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream for topping

2 Peppermint sticks

Add milk, chocolate chips, espresso powder, vanilla extract and spices to your blender.

Blend on high until the hot chocolate is totally combined.

Pour it in a small sauce pan, heat it up to the optimal temperature and serve with peppermint sticks. If desired, top with whipped cream.

yield: 2 mugs 

I found these peppermint cocoa stirrers this week at World Market, and they work perfectly to infuse just the right amount of festive peppermint flavor into the cocoa as they slowly melt into the mix.

They have an really authentic peppermint flavor, and they’re not sticky and super sweet like a regular candy cane. 

We served this cocoa over the weekend with our Christmassy spritz cookies and homemade Tollhouse cookies, and it put us in the perfect holiday mood, while sitting in front of the fire. You could even spike this with a little Bailey's or peppermint schnapps! 

ciao! fabiana

p.s. the cute mug is from Home Goods.