Raspberry Drinking Chocolate For One

You're invited to come over for breakfast anytime you want. But you should know that I'm not usually fully dressed and that I'm probably only half coherent until after I've put some caffeine into my system. Don't worry though, I've been told morning is when I'm at my wittiest. It's also when I wake to cook and bake the most delicious and decadent treats. Breakfast isn't healthy and it has no place trying. Butter. Cream. Sugar. Flour. Those are the ingredients I want in my breakfast foods.

Chocolate can come too. I still eat Eggo waffles with chocolate chips. I delicately place one chip into each hole in the waffle after it's toasted, then microwave the whole treat for 15 seconds. The chips glisten but they don't lose their shape. Stunning. A squirt of whipped cream tops it off. I fold the whole thing in half and eat it like a waffle taco.

If you do come visit, I won't want to share my coffee, but I might make you homemade hot chocolate if you ask nicely or offer to take the dog for a walk later. I'm not talking about the powdered stuff (although, that stuff's pretty good if you mix it into warm milk instead of water). I'm talking rich, creamy, indulgent. Semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cocoa powder. Heavy cream. Raspberries.

Oh that is the stuff.

It's heavy and sweet and bitter and sour. This isn't the hot chocolate you chug down. This is the one you cradle with both hands and breathe out of. This is the one you sip slowly and close your eyes, thinking about winterscapes and fuzzy scarves and fireplaces.

Didn't have a date over the weekend? It's okay. This raspberry hot chocolate can be your Valentine. I want to wake up to this every single day. Sorry coffee, we may have to reevaluate our relationship.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate for One
Makes 1 serving, doubles easily

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Frozen raspberries
2 tsp Sugar
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Heavy cream
1/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
Sugar to taste

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat up the raspberries and one teaspoon of sugar until all the ice crystals have melted and the berries start to get soft.
2. Once you're able, crush the berries with a wooden spoon and stir into a syrup. Add the other teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat, and cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Once cooled a bit, pour the raspberry syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a small dish, pressing down to get as much juice as possible without pushing any seeds through. Set aside for later.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream to a simmer. Don't let them boil! As soon as it starts bubbling around the edges, remove the pan from the heat.
5. Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Slowly spoon the hot milk over them and stir. Keep adding little bits of milk and stirring until the chips melt completely.
6. Add the melted chocolate and the raspberry syrup to the rest of the hot milk in the saucepan. Stir until everything is incorporated.
7. Place over medium-low heat, and add the cocoa powder. Stir until dissolved. Add sugar to taste (I didn't add any, but I like bitter, dark chocolate).
8. Pour into an 8oz mug, and top with fresh whipped cream and any last drippings of the raspberry syrup. Drink immediately for breakfast or dessert!