Last updated on August 19th, 2022 at 11:04 pm

‘Tis the season for hot chocolate. When you think of hot chocolate, you typically think of the Christmas season and cold weather. 

You can make a nice cup of hot chocolate at home or order one to keep you warm while out Christmas shopping. You can enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate to warm you up after an afternoon of ice skating, Christmas caroling, or walking around downtown looking at Christmas lights. 

There’s something nostalgic about having a nice cup of hot chocolate during the Winter season. Whether you drink your hot chocolate Christmas Eve while baking Christmas cookies for Santa or after you’ve unwrapped all the presents around the tree, hot chocolate is a great drink to enjoy. 

Hot chocolate is one of those drinks that just brings a smile to your face and an overall feeling of warmth to your soul. 

When you do make hot chocolate with the family, you can get creative with the different flavors of hot chocolate. There is spicy hot chocolate, white chocolate hot chocolate, peppermint hot chocolate, and more. 

Can you get even more creative and add coffee creamer flavors into your hot chocolate? 

You can add coffee creamer to your hot chocolate and change the way you drink hot chocolate forever. If you are a fan of hazelnut, add a bit of hazelnut creamer and enjoy hazelnut hot chocolate. Is vanilla your go-to flavor for your morning coffee? Try adding it to your hot chocolate for a creamy vanilla hot chocolate. 

There are plenty of flavors for coffee creamer, so now you have plenty of flavor options for hot chocolate too.

What Foods Pair Well With Hot Chocolate?

When cold weather comes around, it’s time to pull out all your winter gear. You pull out all your hats, gloves, coats, snowsuits, and more to make sure that you stay warm. 

Soup recipes and casseroles seem to make their way to the dinner table more often as they can keep you warm during the cold season too. Hot chocolate is another item that increases in popularity when the cold weather comes around. 

If you enjoy drinking hot chocolate after dinner to help warm you up before bed, why not pair it with a nice snack too? You want a snack that will complement the chocolatey flavor and also emphasize the sweetness. 

What snacks are the perfect pairing for your evening hot chocolate?

• Marshmallows: Marshmallows are the first thing you think of when the word hot chocolate comes to mind. You make hot chocolate and immediately top it with marshmallows. You can even find mugs that allow you to attach a hoop to your cup and play your own game of hot chocolate basketball. 

• Cookies: Christmas is not just a time for hot chocolate but also a time for cookies. Take some of your favorite holiday cookies and enjoy them with your hot chocolate. You can choose to warm up some gooey chocolate chip cookies or enjoy frosted sugar cookies as your hot chocolate snack. 

• Piroulines: These rolled wafer cookies are a great pairing for hot chocolate. You can get these cookies in different flavors like chocolate fudge or chocolate hazelnut. You can choose to dip these wafer cookies in your hot chocolate or eat them on their own. 

• Donuts: If you are more of a cake person instead of a cookie person, then donuts are a great pairing with your hot chocolate. You can choose to dunk your donuts or just eat them by themselves. It is best to choose a donut without any frosting or sprinkles. If you choose to dunk your donut, one without sprinkles will leave fewer floaties. 

• Candy Canes: This special treat also gains popularity in the Christmas season. If you choose to pair a candy cane with your drink, your combination choices are endless. If you choose a peppermint candy cane, you can leave it in your hot chocolate and have peppermint hot chocolate. If you choose a chocolate candy cane, you have a chocolatier hot chocolate. If you choose a fruity flavored candy cane like strawberry or cherry, you have cherry or strawberry hot chocolate. 

• Popcorn: Salty and sweet is an excellent combination. If you feel like things are getting a bit too sweet, reach for your popcorn, if it’s getting too salty, take a sip of your hot chocolate. The crunchy texture of popcorn is a great snack to go along with your hot chocolate. You can either make popcorn at home or purchase the caramel corn tins that also gain popularity during Christmas. 

• Roasted Nuts: Another favorite holiday snack is roasted nuts. You can enjoy your crunchy roasted nuts while sipping on some sweet hot chocolate. 

Why Is The Hot Chocolate Chunky? 

Have you ever been excited to make hot chocolate only to see that it is extremely clumpy? Whether you made homemade hot chocolate or used an instant packet, the clumps in your hot chocolate are not appetizing. 

What causes the hot chocolate to become chunky? 

Hot chocolate contains cocoa powder and cocoa powder is starchy. The reason your hot chocolate becomes clumpy is that when you add the liquid to the cocoa powder the starch in the cocoa powder expands. As soon as you add the water or milk to the cocoa mix, the outside edges of the powder chunks expand sealing in some dry cocoa. 

There are a few options that you can use to help keep clumps from happening when you make hot cocoa. 

• Use milk to create a chocolatey paste. Before you fill your cup with liquid and start mixing, add a tablespoon of milk. Stir the small amount of milk and cocoa until you form a paste. This allows you to make sure that you break up all the chunks before adding any more liquid.

• Sift the cocoa powder. When you sift the cocoa powder before adding any liquid, you are removing clumps and adding air between the particles of cocoa. 

• Stir your hot chocolate with a whisk or fork. While a spoon may seem more convenient of a utensil to use, a whisk or fork is better. This allows you to stir up and break apart the hot cocoa clumps instead of just moving them around with a spoon. 

Final Thoughts

The next time you go to cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate, instead of reaching for milk to make it creamier, reach for your coffee creamer instead. You can create memories while creating new hot chocolate flavors with your family. 

Be sure to grab a delicious snack to pair with your hot chocolate too while you get cozy.