Saturday marked the first day of Autumn, and though I love the changing colors I fear the coming snow. I don’t do cold. I can handle snow from about Thanksgiving to New Year’s and then I’m ready for 80-degree weather. I could almost skip spring if it weren’t for those great purple and white blossoms on the trees (we like to call it “popcorn”). If you skip spring you can skip spring cleaning, right? Fear-of-biting-cold aside, I do look forward to one thing when Fall weather hits, and that’s hot chocolate.

Last Christmas a good friend who knows all too well about my love for hot chocolate gave me a Cocoa-Latte machine from Back to Basics. We practically wore out the motor we used this thing so much! “Can we Cocoa-Latte?” became a popular evening phrase in our home, and we always indulged. The best was a can of Stephen’s Gourmet Hot Cocoa, but you’ve got to use milk. That’s the key to extra creamy, extra frothy cocoa. And don’t skimp on the froth. The Cocoa-Latte machine has a special switch for whipping the cocoa into a frothy frenzy. (Just don’t load the carafe past the suggested line. You’ll end up with a cocoa mess. I speak from personal experience…)

Another great take on the classic cocoa is to experiment with mix-ins. During college, no late-night chat (a.k.a. therapy session) was complete without a mug of hot cocoa garnished with a heaping scoop of mint chip ice cream. If you’ve never tried mint chip ice cream in your hot cocoa you’re missing out on one of winter’s simplest pleasures. Note: Make sure your hot cocoa is extra hot so it stays warm while the ice cream melts. By the way, the best part of drinking the cocoa is finding all those tiny chocolate chips at the bottom of your mug. It’s like buried treasure, only better! If you’re feeling adventurous, mix and match your hot cocoa and ice cream. Try raspberry hot cocoa with French vanilla ice cream or dark chocolate cocoa with butter pecan. Discover the perfect combination for your tastebuds and you’ll have a new favorite treat when the weather gets frightful.

Looking for gourmet hot cocoa? Check out Stephen’s Gourmet Cocoa, a Utah original. My favorite? The Chocolate Mint Truffle. Of course Godiva’s Dark Chocolate Truffle comes highly recommended as well. And don’t forget the Cocoa-Latte machine. It makes a great gift for friends and family during the holidays. Oh, and pick one up for yourself! (You’ll need it for those emergency late-night therapy sessions.) –Emily

This entry was posted on Monday, September 25th, 2006 at 9:56 am and is filed under Daily Dish. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.