Red Velvet Hot Chocolate.

With winter here, the cold weather, and the holidays in the air, hot chocolate is the perfect comfort drink for the season. I was craving a rich cup of hot chocolate last night so I decided to make one and add a little fun spin to it...by making it a red velvet hot chocolate!

So red velvet cake is basically a cake flavored with cocoa powder for a chocolate-y taste and vinegar to make the cake rich and fluffy. Red food coloring started being added to this cake batter years after its creation to enhance the red color. I basically added these same concepts (minus the vinegar) to typical hot chocolate ingredients. It turns out so rich and, well...velvety! You'll definitely want to share these with friends and family. 

These are the ingredients I used...

I started by simmering skim 1% milk in a pot. Most people use whole milk, which makes the drink creamier, but I personally can't take the taste of all the fat in whole milk. 

After simmering the milk, I added cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate until the chocolate melted and the cocoa was incorporated. To the mixture, I added vanilla and some red food coloring to enhance the chocolate flavors and intensify the red color. And voila! 

I topped it all off with mini marshmallows which nicely melt into the hot chocolate. I'm dreaming of this hot chocolate as I type this, it was that good! (Recipe at end of post) 

I enjoyed my yummy red velvet hot chocolate by the fireplace surrounded by Christmas decor. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups milk of your choice 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate (chopped or chocolate chips) 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon red food coloring 

Directions: 

1. Put the milk into a pot and heat on medium until it simmers. 

2. Once the milk has simmered, add the cocoa powder and semi sweet chocolate and whisk until melted and incorporated into the milk. 

3. Add the vanilla and food coloring. Whisk until incorporated. 

4. Ladle the hot chocolate into a mug and too with marshmallows.