Hot Cocoa With Ancho Chiles And Spice Recipes

ANCHO CHILE-MEXICAN CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, chile powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown and granulated sugar and beat until slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
• Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, add half the flour mixture, and beat until just combined, then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until the mixture just comes together, 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to overmix. Add the chocolate chunks and pepitas and beat on low until just combined.
• Use a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making about 14 cookies total and leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie.
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are crisp but the centers are still tender, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven, set the baking sheets on wire racks, and let the cookies cool completely on the pans. They should keep up to 5 days in an airtight container.

CINNAMON AND SPICE HOT COCOA

Steps:

• In a medium pot, whisk together milk, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, chile powder, and pinch of salt over medium-high until combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pour cocoa into four mugs and serve immediately with marshmallows if desired.

SPICY HOT CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• In a medium pot, whisk together chocolate, cocoa, sugar and chile. Place pan over medium-low heat and whisk until chocolate begins to melt. Slowly whisk in milk, then cream. Drop in cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer.
• Remove pot from heat. Cover pot tightly and steep 1 hour. Whisk in vanilla and taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if you like. Warm over low heat before straining and serving hot, with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired.

HOT COCOA WITH ANCHO CHILES AND SPICE

Steps:

• Bring first 7 ingredients and pinch of salt to simmer in medium saucepan, whisking often. Add cinnamon sticks. Cover; remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes. Bring to simmer, whisking. Discard cinnamon.

SPICY SPIKED HOT CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Combine milk, cream, sugar, chile, and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add pod. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat, cover, and let steep 15 minutes.
• Remove chile, cinnamon stick, and vanilla pod; discard. Add chocolate and heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove hot chocolate from heat and add liqueur. Serve hot.
• DO AHEAD: Hot chocolate (without liqueur) can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat and add liqueur just before serving.

MAYAN HOT COCOA

Steps:

• Sift the cocoa powder and flour.
• Measure out 4 cups of milk. From the 4 cups of milk, slowly whisk about 1/4 cup of it, a little more if necessary, into the cocoa/flour mix until it becomes a paste. If you add milk too fast, you get clumpy cocoa. If that happens, use a hand blender to smooth it out.
• When all the cocoa and flour are a paste (no more dry flour,) add the remaining spices (sugar, nutmeg, cloves, peppers, and cinnamon).
• Heat the rest of the 4 cups of milk in a double-boiler or a saucepan over medium.
• Add the cocoa/flour/spices mix to the hot milk in the double-boiler. Stir constantly to keep it from burning.
• If you prefer a slightly thicker drink, you can add the optional cornstarch/water mixture now. Continue stirring on the heat until it's to your desired thickness. Not too long; you don't want to be forced to use a knife and fork. ;D.
• When the cocoa is ready (it takes about 10-15 minutes until the flavor and heat level are *just right*), strain the cocoa in a fine sieve to remove the cloves and cinnamon pieces. (Careful, it could splatter - I found out last night. *grrr*) Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir.
• If you like, you can put whipped cream on top, add small marshmallows, or add a stick of cinnamon for stirring.

ANCHO CHILI POWDER SPICE MIX

Steps:

• Toast the ancho chile pieces over low heat in a dry skillet until fragrant, shaking the pan so they don't scorch.
• Put the chiles in a mini food processor and pulse to a powder. Add the remaining ingredients and process again to combine.