Hello friends, how was your Thanksgiving?  Did you serve any of our delicious fall treats at your feast? Who tried the Templeton Pecan Pie?  Did you serve the Zaya Banana Bread? What about the Pumpkin Martini?

As soon as Thanksgiving is over we start to get into the Christmas spirit around here.  We decorated the house with Christmas decorations, ordered our family Christmas cards, and started watching our holiday movie favorites.  Hands down our family loves Elf with Will Ferrell.  We can recite most of the lines from the movie. Do you know the four main food groups?  Along with the other Christmas festivities, we also enjoy our favorite holiday beverages and foods.  Although it was a balmy 70 degrees in Dallas today as we were hanging our holiday lights, we enjoyed some hot chocolate to get us in the holiday mood.

This year we decided to kick things up a notch by trying some grown up hot chocolate. Lucky for you, in this post you will get 3 great ideas for the low price of 1. (We just had to partake in the Black Friday Hype!)

We used a hot chocolate recipe from The Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for the base of our hot chocolate.  However, there are many different recipes out there, and we are not against using Swiss Miss if you must!

Hot Chocolate

• 2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened or semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped or 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 cups milk
• Garnish:  Whipped cream, marshmallows, mint leaves

In a medium saucepan combine chocolate, sugar and 1/2 cup of milk.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture just comes to boiling.  Stir in remaining milk and heat through.

Remove from heat.  Beat milk with a rotary beater until frothy.  Serve hot in cups or mugs and garnish as desired.

Our first try was Pumpkin Spice.  We know what you are saying, “Thanksgiving is over. Give up on the Pumpkin Spice, Rhonda!”  However, we think you will be pleasantly surprised with this one.  Here is another twist.  It incorporates Rye Whiskey!  We were skeptical, until we tried it.  This one ended up being Rhonda’s favorite. We topped it off with the Whiskey Whipped Cream from our pecan pie.

1.Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

Make hot chocolate as desired.  Add one ounce of Templeton Rye Whiskey.  Add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top.

Kerrygold Irish Cream is a very versatile liqueur, and brings a taste of extra chocolate decadence to almost any dessert or beverage.  Our Irish Hot Chocolate is easy.  Just add an ounce of Kerrygold for some extra chocolate indulgence.

2. Irish Hot Chocolate

Make hot chocolate as desired.  Add an ounce of Kerrygold Irish Cream.  Top off with marshmallows.

Branca Menta is a liqueur that we have referenced in the past in our “Who Needs Half-Price Shakes after 8?” post.  It has a smooth mint flavor that stands out in many recipes.  It is perfect for any mint-lover, and gives a refreshing boost to our hot chocolate.

3. Menta Hot Chocolate

Make hot chocolate as desired.  Add an ounce of Branca Menta.  Top off with marshmallows or whipped cream with a mint sprig for garnish.

3 great hot chocolate drinks for sipping around the fire and watching your holiday favs.  Which one will you try first?  We would love to hear about it.

DISCLAIMER: THE BEVERAGES ON THIS SITE ARE MEANT FOR ADULTS 21 YEARS AND OLDER.  WE DO NOT SUPPORT OR ENCOURAGE UNDERAGE DRINKING.  ALWAYS DRINK RESPONSIBLY AND NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE.