Nothing will warm you up quite like this thick and creamy bourbon spiked hot chocolate. Top it with a huge dollop of whipped cream and caramel for a truly decadent treat.

There are more healthier recipes coming this month, but for now I wanted to share this hot chocolate I’ve had on repeat this winter. I found some caramel bourbon that actually tastes amazing and not too sweet so I decided I needed to put it in a cozy spiked drink. Naturally, a spiked hot chocolate was the first thing that came to mind. It was so good, I didn’t even bother trying anything else.

At first I wasn’t sure if this was “blog worthy,” but then I realized I don’t really have any other hot chocolate recipes on the blog besides my matcha white hot chocolate which is seriously amazing. And there is also the hot chocolate mug cake mix and mocha salted caramel hot chocolate sticks, but they don’t really count. And honestly, this bourbon spiked hot chocolate is so freaking good it definitely deserves to be shared with the world. A few people have asked on my take on the red wine hot chocolate ever since the red wine brownies became popular, and I am working on it, trust me. It will be everything you have ever wanted and more. Just… don’t quote me on that (kidding, it will be awesome)

There are no real tricks to making this bourbon spiked hot chocolate, but I do have some pointers.

I do use a touch of arrowroot starch as a thickener. You can replace it with cornstarch, but try not to omit it entirely. It’s what helps give the hot chocolate that irresistible thickness. When you make the hot chocolate, it is important to start when the milk is still cold. That is the only way to thoroughly mix in the arrowroot or corn starch into the milk. Otherwise you will end up goopy chunks of the starch in your hot chocolate. Sure, you could strain them out, but why go through that extra step?

Add the bourbon at the very end with the vanilla. This ensure that you don’t accidentally cook out a lot of the alcohol. I used a caramel flavored bourbon, but experiment with what you have around. You can also swap out the bourbon in favor of a flavored vodka. Or skip the booze altogether for a tasty kid-friendly drink.

Yield: 1 mug of hot chocolate

Bourbon Spiked Hot Chocolate

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Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Total Time 7 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 oz semi sweet chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 oz bourbon
• whipped cream
• caramel

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, add milk, cornstarch, and cocoa powder together. Whisk well until thoroughly combined.
2. Heat on medium-high and add the brown sugar, salt, and chocolate. Stir frequently until the mixture is steaming hot and the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the vanilla and bourbon.
4. Pour the hot chocolate into a mug and top with whipped cream and caramel.
5. Serve immediately.