Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole milk
- ⅓-¼ cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 1½ ounces amaretto liqueur
- ¼ ounce vanilla liqueur
- Marshmallows for garnish
- Hot water
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, add whole milk, chocolate chips, and simple syrup.
- Heat until chocolate is melted, stirring frequently.
- Warm a mug by filling with hot water.
- After mug is warm to touch, pour out the water.
- In warm mug, add hot chocolate, amaretto, and vanilla liqueur.
- Stir carefully to mix.
- Garnish with marshmallows.
Variations and Substitutions
Consider this a jumping-off point for any of your amaretto hot chocolate needs.
- Instead of vanilla liqueur, experiment with other flavors that pair well with almonds. These flavors include butterscotch, cinnamon, coconut, coffee, hazelnut, or strawberry. Even chocolate liqueur!
- Add a splash of bourbon or vodka for a slightly boozier kick.
- Melt white chocolate chips in place of traditional chocolate chips. You can also melt equal parts of each!
- Swap your plain simple syrup for almond syrup to ramp up the nutty flavor to a ten.
- Opt for almond or oat milk to whip up a dairy-free amaretto hot chocolate.
Topping Your Amaretto Hot Chocolate
As you finish off your hot chocolate cocktail preparation, don't forget to garnish your creation.
- Give your amaretto hot chocolate a dollop of whipped cream as a finishing touch.
- Sprinkle the whipped cream with sprinkles or shaved chocolate. You can even add a dash of grated nutmeg or cinnamon.
- Drizzle chocolate syrup down the inside of the mug.
- Using a kitchen torch, carefully and lightly torch the marshmallows to toast them.
The Amaretto Hot Chocolate and You
When you think of hot chocolate, you might immediately think of the packet hot chocolate mixes. There's zero shame in the instant mix hot chocolate game because this means you have hazelnut, french vanilla, caramel, raspberry, dark chocolate, and the classic milk chocolate ready to go at a moment's notice. This is great for when you've eaten through your chocolate candy stash or baked all of your chocolate chips. As a bonus, you can layer different flavor packets together with amaretto, creating a one-of-a-kind warm and gooey amaretto hot chocolate.
Likewise, you can experiment with melting different types of chocolate, such as dark chocolate, white chocolate, candy-coated chocolates, or even mint chocolate candies. So long as the entire candy can melt, you can quickly whip up a succulent amaretto candy hot chocolate.
Hot Chocolate You'll Go Nuts Over
It may take a little more time and effort to conjure hot chocolate from scratch, but the flavor couldn't be more worth the effort. The rich melted chocolate notes with the almond liqueur mean your amaretto hot chocolate will be head and shoulders above the rest.