Pretzel Hot Chocolate + The 12 Days of Beverages Challenge!
December 13, 2019 by Nicole Collins
It’s that time of year when we get to start our “12 Days of…” challenge!
Who’s excited?!?!?
Any guesses what we’re doing this year?
Well, if you didn’t read the title of this post (which you probably did, so you’ll just have to act surprised); this year is all about the drinks.
Welcome to the 12 Days of Beverages!
We’re going to be doing a mix of cocktails and kid friendly drinkies over the next few days. Some will be smaller servings, and some will be fit for a crowd. But no matter what, there’s something for everyone!
First up, we’re making Pretzel Hot Chocolate!
True story…I feel like I could’ve made this the 12 Days of Hot Chocolate Challenge; because when I first wrote up my idea outline, it was all hot chocolate! But in the name of diversity, we’re going to let some wine and champagne have a chance too.
Today’s recipe is super simple, but it does take a little planning to make the base of our hot chocolate: pretzel milk. Sit on that for a sec. We’re going to give our hot chocolate an extra boost of salty goodness by lacing our milk with extra pretzel flavor!
We start by roasting some pretzels for just a few minutes to bring out their naturally nutty flavor. Then, we pour some over milk and cream over the cooled pretzels in a pitcher or large bowl, and give them a good stir. Let them soak for about a half hour, then transfer the milk to a saucepan to warm and get ready for our chocolate.
Once the milk is heated, we’re going to whisk in a mix of milk and semisweet chocolate. Give it a little splash of vanilla for extra flavor, and we’re just about ready to enjoy our drink.
The final touch to our delicious beverage is the peanut butter pretzel rim! Melt some peanut butter, roll the rim of your glass or mug all around in it, then coat the rim in crushed pretzel pieces. The heat from the warm chocolate melts the peanut butter in some spots causing it to fall and mix right in the drink. SO DECADENT! And don’t worry, if you have a nut allergy, just use some caramel sauce in place of the melted peanut butter. It’s just as delicious!
Alright everyone…1 day down, 11 to go!
‘Til tomorrow…let’s drink!
Pretzel Hot Chocolate
Serves: 2 Print
Ingredients:
2 cups, plus ½ cup mini pretzels, divided
3 cups milk (2% or whole)
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk chocolate chips
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup peanut butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread 2 cups pretzels in an even layer on prepared pan. Bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven, and cool completely.
Once the pretzels have cooled, add toasted pretzels, milk, and heavy cream to a pitcher or large bowl. Stir well to make sure all of the pretzels are coated in the milk mix. Allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain milk into a medium saucepan, discarding the soaked pretzels.
Heat milk mix over medium low until the milk starts to simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding. When the milk starts to simmer, add milk and semi sweet chocolates plus the vanilla. Whisk well to combine. Once the chocolate has fully melted and incorporated into the milk, remove from heat.
Take remaining ½ cup pretzels and place in a plastic baggie. Bang with a rolling pin or heavy skillet to crush pretzels. Alternately, you can run the pretzels through a food processor until crushed. Pour onto a small plate. Pour melted peanut butter onto another small plate. Dip the rims of your serving glass or mugs in the melted peanut butter, moving around to make sure the rim has a nice coating. Dip the peanut butter rim into crushed pretzels, moving around to coat the rim. Pour hot chocolate into prepared glasses. Serve!
Recipe notes:
*If you're serving this drink to someone with a nut allergy, you can replace with melted peanut butter with caramel sauce for the rim.
*You can melt peanut butter in the microwave in 15 second intervals. Don't let it go unwatched, because it can burn.
*Making the pretzel milk might seem like it takes forever, but it so worth it for the nutty, saltiness that's added to our hot chocolate.
*Because we're adding heavy cream to our milk mix, we're ok to use 2% or whole milk. The higher the fat content, the creamier the drink. I wouldn't use any lower fat content then 2% though. We don't want our drink to fall on the watery side.
