Spiced Hot Cocoa 

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Serves: 4 person(s)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 7 mins

This yummy, rich, hot cocoa is a special treat with adult tastes in mind.
Per serving: 268 calories, 11g fat and 7mg cholesterol
Saves: 69 calories, 10g fat and 105mg cholesterol over regular cocoa!

Ingredients:

Gourmet hot chocolate gets that rich taste from the fat in the recipe. Our makeover savors the rich flavor but reduces the calories and fat by replacing whole milk with low-fat and heavy cream with whisked egg white. Adding a touch of cinnamon flavoring perks up our lower calorie version.

To learn more about recipe makeovers see CalorieKing's library article "Smart Substitutes: Your Guide to Low-Calorie Cooking Alternatives".

Recipe Makeover
3 1/2 oz dark chocolate 3 cup lowfat milk (1%) 1 cinnamon stick, broken up 2 Tbsp light molasses * 2 Tbsp cocoa, unsweetened powder 2 Tbsp Kahlua, Amaretto or Brandy 1 egg white

Traditional Recipe
2 oz unsweetened chocolate 2 cup whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 6 Tbsp granulated sugar 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 large egg 1 dash of salt 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Roughly chop pieces of chocolate and place in a pan with milk, cinnamon, light molasses and cocoa; stir. Heat gently over a low heat, stirring to melt the chocolate. Strain through a finely meshed sieve into a clean pan to sift any loose cinnamon pieces.

Use a whisk to froth the mixture while continuing to heat until just below boiling point. Keep over a low heat while you whisk or beat egg white in a bowl until soft peaks form. Add this egg mixture to the hot chocolate mixture. Immediately remove from heat, and whisk. This will create a thick beverage with a rich foam.

Stir in alcohol, garnish with fresh mint or fresh chocolate mint sprigs, and serve.

Variations:

* Light molasses can be replaced with sorghum, dark corn syrup, cane syrup, light treacle, golden syrup, or 1 tablespoon brown sugar.

Author:

Family Health Network