Rich 'n' Thick Hot Chocolate

Prep: 10 min., Cook: 8 min. This is a luxurious, unexpected offering for dessert. Take it over the top with a dollop of Marshmallow Whipped Cream. Find the chocolate bars on the candy aisle at the grocery store. Traditional hot chocolate recipes usually call for arrowroot as a thickener, but we used the more common cornstarch.

Yield: Makes about 4 cups (8 [1/2-cup] servings) (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  cornstarch
• 4  cups  milk, divided
• 2  (3.5-oz.) dark chocolate bars (at least 70% cacao), chopped
• 1/3  cup  honey
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Marshmallow Whipped Cream (optional)

Preparation

1. Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk until smooth.

2. Cook remaining 3 1/2 cups milk in a large, nonaluminum saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around edge of saucepan (about 4 minutes; do not boil). Whisk in chocolate, honey, vanilla extract, and salt until blended and smooth. Whisk in cornstarch mixture.

3. Bring milk mixture to a light boil, whisking frequently (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.) Serve immediately with Marshmallow Whipped Cream, if desired.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight 72% Cacao dark chocolate bar.

Mexican Rich 'n' Thick Hot Chocolate: Prepare recipe as directed through Step 2, whisking in 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1 tsp. ancho chili powder with chocolate. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Orange-Almond Rich 'n' Thick Hot Chocolate: Prepare recipe as directed through Step 2, whisking in 3 Tbsp. orange juice and 2 Tbsp. almond liqueur with chocolate. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Amaretto for almond liqueur.

Grown-up Rich 'n' Thick Hot Chocolate: Prepare recipe as directed through Step 2, whisking in 1/2 cup Southern Comfort with chocolate. Proceed with recipe as directed.