by PartyFan
Winter is here, and the nights grow cold. What better way to ward off the chill than a hot beverage? They are good for both body and mind, and besides, they are tasty! Here are my 7 favorites, in no particular order. Feel free to comment and tell us all about yours.1) Cocoa. It is hard to go wrong with chocolate! There are many good instant mixes available on the market, and you shouldn't feel bad about taking advantage of them. Quick and convenient, for most people they are every bit as tasty as the stuff made from scratch. If you insist on being a purist, here's an honest from scratch recipe for you, that doesn't require scalding the milk, which I always screw up:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
4 cups milk, or 3 3/4 cups milk and 1/4 cup
half and half for creamier cocoa
2 pinches salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the water, sugar, cocoa, and salt in saucepan.
Stirring constantly (I can't emphasize that enough,
heat on a medium stove until it boils, keep stirring
while you let it boil for one minute. Stir in the milk
and let it warm up, but do not let it boil. When
warmed, remove from the stove and stir in the vanilla.
Serve right away.
4 servings.
Optional. Add 1/2 to 1 1/2 Oz. (to taste) of dark rum, brandy, or cinnamon schnapps. Yum!
2) Hot buttered, or mulled, cider. This stuff is delicious! Most of the recipes I've seen use a little too much butter for my taste, so I've cut the amount down in this recipe. You can add more if you like it, or leave the butter out for the simple mulled variety. Cinnamon sticks are best, they give you something to stir the butter back in with as it separates, and they seem to infuse a little more flavor, but ground cinnamon will do if that's all you have.
3 cups of apple cider or juice
2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2-4 cloves (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)
2 tsp. butter (preferred over margarine)
Dissolve the brown sugar in cider in a saucepan. Add
cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon, and the cloves if
you decide to use them. Heat until it just starts to
boil, and remove from heat. Place 1 tsp. butter in each
of two glasses. Strain the cloves and cinnamon sticks
from the cider, saving the sticks (placing the cloves
in a piece of cheesecloth will make this easier), and
pour the hot cider into the glasses. Put the cinnamon
sticks back in as a garnish, and sprinkle some nutmeg
on top if desired. Some people add a dash of vanilla.
2 servings.
Optional. Add 1/2 to 1 1/2 Oz (to taste) of dark rum, spiced rum, or cinnamon schnapps.
3) Coffee. Long a beverage of choice for combating the cold. If you need to avoid caffeine late in the day, make it decaf. For a long time I considered decaf as blasphemous, and I very much notice a difference in taste. As I've gotten older, I find that I can't get to sleep well if I drink the fully charged stuff later in the day, so I've gotten used to decaf. I have a trick to make it taste better, which is to blend caf and decaf together. Some people do this blending 50/50 (half caf), but I've found 25% caf to 75% decaf works best for me. If you can't taste any difference between caf and decaf, or if you are going to be putting booze in it, you won't need to use this trick. I've recently seen some partially decaffeinated coffee in the stores, but I haven't tried it yet.
Optional. Add 1/2 Oz. (to taste) of Kahlua, Amaretto, Frangelico, or cognac (with cognac it is called Cafe Royale). We'll discuss some other additives next. It is easy to overdo the liqueurs, so I recommend the smaller amount, you can always add a little more if you like.
4) Irish Coffee. Ambrosia! I have found few drink recipes that cause as many arguments as Irish Coffee, probably because the two main ingredients, coffee and whiskey, are things that many people hold very strong opinions about. I certainly have mine, which are: Irish Coffee should be served in a glass coffee mug, the rim of the glass should be frosted with sugar, it must be topped with whipped cream, the whiskey must be Irish (which to me means Bushmills, although Jameson will do nicely), and finally (I can hear some people screaming already) the coffee should be poured into the whiskey, not the whiskey into the coffee. There are many recipes for Irish Coffee out there, and I've enjoyed most of them. Here's a basic variant to get you started, although it uses heavy cream instead of whipped, and I usually don't use the brown sugar:
1 1/2 Oz. Irish Whiskey
1 tsp. brown sugar
6 Oz. coffee
heavy cream
Pour the liquids into a glass coffee mug, stir in the
brown sugar. Float the cream on top - do not stir it in.
Serve.
1 serving.
5) Mexican Coffee. This is a delightfully simple variation, and I've enjoyed it on many occasions. Basically brew your coffee as you prefer, and then add an ounce or two of brandy to it. If you are doing decaf, there is no need to blend it with regular coffee, the brandy will cover up any taste difference you might normally notice.
6) Hot lemonade. Normally associated as a frosty treat on hot summer days, this is much better hot than you might think. I think sweet is better than tart when it is served hot, but you can certainly vary this to suit your personal tastes. Here's a basic lemonade recipe, simply heat it in a saucepan or the microwave after you've made it:
Make a sugar syrup first, everyone agrees this works best.
One cup sugar, one cup water, mix together in a saucepan
and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let
this mixture cool before using, you can save any extra for
another time. Next mix one part syrup, one part lemon juice,
and four parts water. If you are using all the syrup, that
will be one cup of the syrup, one cup of lemon juice, and
four cups water. Mix well. If this is too sweet, add a
little more lemon juice. Too tart, add a little more syrup.
Too thin, add a little more of both. Too thick, add a little
more water. If you don't mix the syrup first, the sugar will
settle out of the lemonade, which is undesirable.
Optional. Add 1/2 - 1 Oz. (to taste) of vodka, lemon or orange flavored vodka, or peppermint schnapps. Don't overdo it, it is easy for the alcohol to overpower the lemonade. Again, you can always add a little more if you desire it.
7) Tea. Wars have been fought over tea. White, green, or black, it is all good. Most people find that tea is low enough in caffeine that a cup or two at night doesn't bother them, but if you are overly sensitive, there are literally hundreds of caffeine free herbal blends out there, I'm sure you can find one that tickles your taste buds, and the search for the perfect one might be fun all by itself. If you sugar your tea, try a little warm honey for a special treat.
Optional. Well, I haven't any options, as I haven't found any booze that mixes well with tea. That certainly hasn't kept me from enjoying a hot cuppa, though. If you have found something that works for you, please pass the information along, I'd appreciate it!
So, there's my list. Hope you find at least one of these hot beverages enjoyable.
Stay warm!
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