Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe

Festive occasions call for festive drinks. And when the event is a late-Fall tailgate picnic, at least one of those drinks should be hot.

Recently, at the year’s Big Game tailgate, we served Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate to friends and family. The bracing blend—a not-too-sweet mix of dark cocoa, cinnamon, brandy and a hint of chili powder—made the perfect body- and spirit-warming drink.

The Big Game—a football showdown between my husband’s alma mater and its ancient rival—is a nostalgically ritualized affair. Pre-game tailgates start early and end—well, some don’t end: A number of revelers set up grills, lay groaning boards—and eat, drink and party all day, skipping the game altogether!

As you’d guess, the menu calls for more than a case of beer and bag of chips. While putting the picnic together in my mind, I knew we’d grill—and that I’d serve a cheese platter, Romesco Sauce and Third Ring of Hell Seven Layer Bean Dip.

Since the alma mater’s mascot is a bulldog named Handsome Dan, of course we’d serve Trinidadian Bulldogs.

But I was stumped for a special hot drink. And that’s when I called on—or rather tweeted—Noelle Chun (@NoelleChun on Twitter). With Josh Urich, Noelle blogs at The Joy of Drinking, a site that specializes in classic cocktails. Noelle and Josh understand the convivial pleasures of mixing, presenting and sharing delicious—and mind-numbing—drinks with friends.

The Joy of Drinking extends across the Interwebs

A visit to their wonderful bar—I mean blog—is like stepping into a dim-lit 1940s noir-ish lounge. This holiday season, pop over and try their incomparable Whiskey Smash. But finish reading this post first, or you’ll be in no state to navigate back!

I immediately grabbed and ran with Noelle’s inspired suggestion of Mexican hot chocolate fortified with spirits. But why do I call this recipe Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate? A technicality: Real Mexican hot chocolate is made with the Oaxacan chocolate, a blend of dark, bitter chocolate, cinnamon and grainy sugar.

Molded into scored wheels, this specialty chocolate is not readily available near the Copywriters’ Kitchen in New York. Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate is my north o’ the border version.

But the truth? This unsweetened cocoa-based recipe, below, tastes as deeply chocolatey as the Mexican Hot Chocolate I remember as a child when our family lived in Mexico.

You don’t need to wait for a fall tailgate to make Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate. Serve it over the holidays and through the winter. Delicious with or without brandy, Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate makes a warming post-sledding or skating drink for the whole family.

***December 2011 recipe amendment: After making a few batches of this spicy hot chocolate, I noticed an unpleasant occurrence: cinnamon goo on the bottom of the drink. A Google search revealed I wasn’t the only one getting cinnamon slimed. It seems when cinnamon is added to hot liquids it turns gooey.

The cinnamon slime phenomenon remains a culinary mystery. Some believe the quality of the cinnamon plays a role—better cinnamon creates little or no goo. Others hold that a gummy adulterant added to the spice creates the coagulation.

In any case, I’ve come up with a goo-be-gone remedy: I use whole cinnamon to create a spicy syrup base and strain the hot chocolate before serving—see directions below.

Gringa Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar—or more
1/2 cup water
1 large stick of cinnamon, broken in half
Dash of salt
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
Grinding of black pepper
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 cups whole milk
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sweetened heavy whipped cream
Brandy—1 jigger per serving

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, blend sugar, water, cinnamon stick, salt, chili powder and pepper.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat and let syrup simmer for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick.
3. Add cocoa and stir until dissolved.
4. Add milk, heating over low flame until cocoa is hot. Be careful not to let this mixture boil.
5. Stir in half-and-half and vanilla and heat over low flame until hot but not boiling.
6. Strain hot chocolate through a sieve lined with cheese cloth
7. For spiked drinks, blend one jigger of brandy with one cup of cocoa. Top with dollop of sweetened, whipped cream, if desired.

Serves 6.