Old-fashioned Hot Chocolate

Total Time: 19 mins Preparation Time: 3 mins Cook Time: 16 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pinch cinnamon or 1 pinch chili powder or 1 pinch cayenne, for mystery
• 4 tablespoons skim milk
• 4 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, grated or 9 tablespoons dark cocoa
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• sugar, to taste
• 1 -2 teaspoon of a sweet liqueur, adding it with the vanilla (such as dark rum or grand marnier) (optional)
• 2 tablespoons ginger syrup (optional)
• unsweetened whipped cream (optional) or lightly sweetened whipped cream, as a garnish (optional)

Recipe

• 1 if using chocolate:.
• 2 grate chocolate (manually or in food processor fitted with steel blades). add in corn starch, sugar, and salt.
• 3 if using cocoa:.
• 4 mix solid ingredients, butter, and a little warmed milk to make a smooth paste; add remaining milk.
• 5 in a one-quart, heavy-bottomed, non-aluminum saucepan, heat milk over medium low heat, stirring often with small whisk, until it is steaming hot. carefully add chocolate mixture.
• 6 continue cooking mixture, stirring almost constantly with whisk and scraping bottom and sides of pot with heat resistant spatula frequently. mixture will steam for several (15-20) minutes before coming to a boil, and will thicken slightly.
• 7 when mixture boils, continue cooking and stirring for only 30 to 45 seconds.
• 8 remove from heat; whisk in vanilla, sugar (as much as you want) and any optional ingredients.
• 9 to serve:.
• 10 divide among small 4 cups or mugs, and mix 1 tablespoon of skim milk in each mug to achieve desired consistency; you may need to warm in microwave once skim is added.