Holiday Treat: Nutella Hot Chocolate Recipe -Blogmas Day 5-

Nothing screams Christmastime to me like hot chocolate. Usually, I opt for the easy version: adding some hot water to a packet of Swiss Miss and, if I'm feeling particularly fancy, topping it with some whipped cream or marshmallows. But today, I'm going to share my newly found and adapted recipe for homemade Nutella hot chocolate.

As always, you can alter this recipe and make it your own: I used vanilla almond milk, but you can use any kind of milk you want (it tastes great with plain old regular skim milk). I pictured store brand peppermint flavored whipped cream, but in the end result (the finished picture in the mugs!) I opted for plain old Reddi Whip. Do whatever you like--at the end of the day, you're the one drinking it.

For this recipe, you will need: 

• 2 cups of milk. I used vanilla almond milk, but any milk with work just fine
• A couple of spoonfuls of Nutella. I used about 2 1/2 tablespoons worth, but you can add more or less depending on your preference
• A dash of cinnamon
• Whipped cream, marshmallows, or chocolate chips or anything else you would like to top your hot chocolate with!

Pour 1/2 cup of milk into a saucepan on medium heat, adding in all of the Nutella. Whisk until Nutella is dissolved.  

Once the Nutella is completely dissolved, add in the remaining milk and a dash of cinnamon. Continue whisking it all until cinnamon is completely combined. 

Heat until the hot chocolate is warm and frothy, whisking occasionally to ensure the ingredients stay combined.

Carefully pour the mixture into a mug and top with your desired toppings! I topped mine (and my mom's!) with whipped cream, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips, but I think you can top this with a ton of different things and it will be just as good. This recipe is good for approximately 16oz worth of hot chocolate, but it's easy to double, triple, or even half depending on how much/little you want to make (use 1 cup of milk for an 8oz serving, 3 cups for a 24oz serving, etc)!

And that's that! I've done this recipe with peanut butter, too, and it's also creamy and delicious. Like I said, alter this to your specific likes and dislikes. This is the perfect drink to enjoy while watching Christmas movies or baking cookies--I drank this tonight working on my homework, and it almost made doing homework on a Friday night okay ;) 

What do you like to top your hot chocolate with?