Drinking Chocolate
By: Janice Harper
Published: Thursday, March 3, 2011 - 10:58am

Ingredients




3 pounds bittersweet (or dark) chocolate (discs or broken pieces)
1 teaspoon ground chili pepper (such as ancho or chipotle)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)
of salt (optional) (preferably coarse grind, such as kosher)

Preparation

1 Place everything in large bowl of food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.  Store in air-tight container until ready to use. 2 To make drinking chocolate, mix one part chocolate to one part milk.  Heat (moderate temperature), stirring occasionally,until chocolate begins to melt.  As it melts, begin whisking constantly (or use emulsion blender) until chocolate is completely melted and a thick frothy foam develops, being careful not to let milk boil over.  Pour into tea cups and serve (with a small spoon to lick the cup clean). 3 Notes: This is an excellent recipe for leftover melted chocolate -- especially chocolate that has gone out of temper and cannot be re-used for molded chocolates.  The recipe can also be made with chocolate chips, but the chips do not crush as well, making it difficult to mix the chocolate with the spices.  But if you are making just a cup or two, good-quality chocolate chips work fine if you spice to taste. 4 Be sure to adjust spices to taste.  A combination of chili peppers is best, and the level of heat in this recipe will depend on the type (and age) or your chili peppers.

Other spice options may include vanilla, crushed almonds or hazelnuts, a touch of orange oil (but no more than a few drops or it will burn your throat), finely ground coconut, cardamom, anise, lavendar or roses.