What to do…
I love coffee,
I love beer,
I love cocoa when it’s cold around here.
I know! Make some semi-instant “2Xhot” cocoffee.
- Brew coffee.
- Add coffee to
- Hot cocoa mix* with
- a couple of drops of vanilla
- a pinch (or two) of cayenne pepper or a few drops of your fav hot sauce
- about 1/8-1/4 tsp freshly-ground cinnamon
- stir (I use a whisk) n sip
- sweeten to taste, if needed
Enjoy. The extra spiciness gives this a triple kick: the cocoa, the coffee and the cinnamon/cayenne really go well together! BTW, my first time, I had no cayenne handy, and I didn’t want to use the hot sauce I had available, so I used some chipotle chips, ground fine in a bladed coffee grinder I use for “hot” spices. The cinnamon was ground in a bladed coffee grinder I use for “sweet” spices, although given that I was using them together, I suppose I simply could have used the “hot” spices grinder.
Careful with the pepper, though. It’s easy to get too much for some “gringo” constitutions.
I suppose I really need to come up with a coffee-cocoa-pepper beer, though, cos 3 of 3 is bound to beat 2 of 3, right?
🙂
*Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients
10 cups dry milk powder
4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (I used sucralose–“Splenda”–just not made by the company that makes Splenda)
1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine milk powder, confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and creamer. Stir till thoroughly combined. Store cocoa mixture in an airtight container. Makes about 15 cups mix, or enough for about 45 servings.
For 1 serving, place 1/3 cup cocoa mixture in a coffee cup or mug, and add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Top with dollop of whipped cream or a few marshmallows, if desired.
Note: I did the “stir thoroughly” bit, but I believe from now on I’ll do that, then put the mix through a small food processor to make it into a very fine powder, as I do with a chai mix I make.