Thirsty Thursday - Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

Hi everyone! Megan here. So, today is Thirsty Thursday and I thought I would share with you a drink that just screams fall.  Pumpkin spice hot chocolate. Yummy! I'm not gonna lie to you, but this stuff is like liquid gold to me. I might be a little bias though because it's got pumpkin in it, but that alright...right? Anyway, the combination of the chocolate and pumpkin is just right in this drink. The chocolate doesn't overpower the pumpkin spice taste and the pumpkin spice doesn't over power the chocolate. It's almost as if the these two belong together.

The foam on top is the best part to me. I'm not sure how exactly it forms. I think it has something do with warming the milk on the stove top and then blending the drink at the end. But however you get this fluffy yummy goodness is fine with me though. I'm glad I decided not to go with my original plan and add homemade whipped cream to the top. I have Alex to thank for that though.

I had some heavy whipping cream I had bought maybe a week ago. I had bought it specifically for this recipe, although I did end up using some for another recipe before this hot chocolate. Anyway, I went rummaging through my fridge last night looking for my whipping cream and it was no where to be found. So, I asked Alex about it. And he told me he threw it away, because it had been the fridge for over a week. Now, we all know that heavy whipping cream has a pretty decent expiration date. And I know my whipping cream was not expired. When I told him this he came clean and said to me " Well, I thought it was milk, but when I poured it out it was really thick so I thought it had gone bad and I threw it out." You can imagine the look on my face and the roars of laughter I had. Men, you gotta love em! However, in his defense I think I would have missed out on the yummy foam this hot chocolate makes had he not thrown my heavy whipping cream away.

I just want to say that the hot chocolate mix that I used was purchased at a arts and crafts show here in Savannah back in February. The company is called Perky Moose and they sell all kinds of gourmet beverages. I happened to try some of their hot chocolate and was completely sold! It's actually a company based out of Atlanta, GA and I do highly recommend their products.


So without further ado, I present to you pumpkin spice hot chocolate.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons hot chocolate mix. Perky Moose or just the hot chocolate you have in your cabinet.
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons pureed pure pumpkin
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine milk, pumpkin, hot chocolate mix, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Stir constantly until cocoa is full dissolved and steam is rising from the milk.

3. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and stir until completely incorporated.

4. Pour mixture into a blender and blend for 20 twenty seconds. Frothy goodness! Pour into a mug of your choice. You can use whipped cream for a topping or cinnamon like I did. I'm sure some marshmallows would be yummy in here too!

Does this not look yummy? And cute my super cool owl mug. I LOVE my owl mug! I hope you guys try this out and love it as much as I do. See you tomorrow for Favorite Finds Friday!