Spicy Hot Chocolate

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Add granulated sugar to a medium-sized, heavy bottom saucepan. Heat the sugar, over medium heat, and allow the sugar to melt, stirring occasionally, until it is completely liquid and a nice golden brown color. The sugar may crystallize, however, continue to heat it and it will eventually thin out and become very fluid. Keep an eye on the sugar as it will burn very easily. Once it’s a dark amber color, remove pan from the heat and carefully pour the caramelized sugar onto the parchment paper. Be careful! Liquid sugar is extremely hot! Let the caramelized sugar cool at room temperature until completely hardened and no longer warm to the touch. Break into small pieces.

Add the pieces of caramelized sugar to a food processor and pulverize it into a fine powder. If all the pieces do not fit in your processor at once, pulverize half first before adding the remaining pieces. Once the powder is finely ground, add cocoa powder, salt, brown sugar, milk powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Pulse until well combined. Add dark chocolate 1/4 cup at a time. Process between each addition. Once all the dark chocolate has been added, process for a minute or two until the mixture is a fine powder. That’s it!

Mix 3 tablespoons of spicy chocolate mix into 1 cup of hot milk. Enjoy!

Fill jars or cellophane bags with the spicy hot chocolate mix for a wonderful homemade gift around the holidays. Attach a special tag with instructions on how to prepare spicy hot chocolate for a fireside treat for friends and family.