Pumpkin hot chocolate

 

 “Pumpkin Everythang”

I am a lover of hot chocolate, warm, creamy and sweet. There is nothing better on a cold night. For whatever reason I almost always prefer hot chocolate at night than mornings but that’s neither here nor there. The last hot chocolate I made for this blog is by absolute favorite, and if you’re not a fan of pumpkin and rather a more citrusy kick, check out my orange hot chocolate. In the event that you are obsessed with fall and all things rich, creamy and orange, continue reading to get the recipe for the perfect cup.

Tis the season where coffee shops remind us that there is an ingredient called pumpkin. And they all add to their menu, a pumpkin coffee or hot chocolate of some sort. If you ask me most of these places are using more pumpkin spice than actual pumpkin. I mean who wants to drink a pumpkin pie? I figured if you make a drink with an ingredient you should use the fresh ingredients and it should taste like it. The point of a hot pumpkin drink is to impart the rich sweet flavors of the pumpkin into a classic hot chocolate. That’s exactly what I have done here.

While this is simple enough to make, it’s not exactly a 2 minute recipe. You have to actually peel pumpkin. I thought about using the canned pumpkin puree but decided that to achieve the richness I was after; I had to go straight to the source. If you have a special diet, you can swap out the heavy cream for almond milk or skim milk. I’m sure it will be just as good. If you’re making this just for yourself go ahead and make the recipe as is, then store the extra in the refrigerator in an old milk jug and warm a cup every morning. 

Ingredients (printable ingredient list)

2-3 cups of raw pumpkin

4 cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

½ vanilla bean stick

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup milo

4 teaspoon unsweetened natural coco powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 cup heavy cream

Whipped cream to garnish

Greedy Tips:

• When you peel pumpkin make sure to cut away from your body and hands
• Milo is a malted chocolate beverage, if you don't have Milo any other hot chocolate beverage mix will do. You don't want to substitute the Milo and use only the unsweetened natural coco because, it would be way to chocolaty, super rich and possibly bitter.

Xoxo Greedygirl