On the 10th blog of Christmas: Holiday Drinks!

During this time of year we get extra, extra giddy towards food and drinks. We know you're probably thinking how could we possibly squeal, jump up and down and cheer even more than we already do every other day of the year when we see food and drinks, but trust us it's possible. :p There's just something super exciting about festive treats that have us bouncing up and down with glee and enthusiasm more than usual. We just have to hear the words 'Hot Cocoa' or 'Eggnog' and we feel in the Christmas spirit. This year however we wanted to experiment. We love our British traditions and during the holidays usually stick to a simple hot chocolate or our Baileys, in addition to our Italian favourites such as Limoncello, Amaretti and Advocat. (We're sure that is actually Dutch but we grew up having it at Nanna and Grandads so always assumed it was Italian. :p) But this year upon celebrating Christmas first with our families in Virginia, we learnt of a Puerto Rican specialty called Coquito. My Mother in law described it as being the Spanish version of Eggnog and explained that her family make it and have it every year. I was eager to try it and learn about my extended families traditions. Of course, Kelly and I couldn't resist whipping up something Italian too and though we occasionally enjoy a little sachet of Cadbury's Hot Chocolate, we've always wondered how the Italians make their hot chocolate so rich, thick and creamy. A little search on Pinterest and we set about making our own version of Italian Hot Chocolate. We really hope you enjoy these recipes. We have to say that Coquito is rather delicious and my Father in Law just so happened to say that it was one of the best he's ever tasted. As for the Hot Chocolate, oh my goodness!! We were so happy with ourselves with this one. It was especially thick and creamy, not too sweet but such a treat. Please share and take pictures if you decide to try one of these recipes out yourself! :)

Coquito!

1 12oz can Evaporated Milk

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 15oz can sweetened cream of coconut

1 14oz can coconut milk

3 cups rum

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

cinnamon sticks.

Combine milks and cream of coconut in a blender and mix until combined. Add rum, vanilla, cinnamon and blend till smooth. Refrigerate until nice and chilled. We found that the Coquito tastes best when it had plenty of time to chill. We even thought it might be even more delicious blended with ice to make more of a frozen creamy drink. :) You can add your cinnamon sticks for decoration.

Hot Chocolate!

Bittersweet chocolate. Lindt 70% cocoa 4oz

2tbsp corn starch

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 can condensed milk

1 tbsp. Vanilla

Lady fingers.

We couldn't resist tweaking this recipe a little bit as we are always using our instincts and following our hearts when it comes to anything Italian. Last year we loved making our crockpot hot chocolate with sweetened condensed milk, to add a touch of sweetness and creaminess, so we decided to add a little bit to this recipe too. This way we skipped adding sugar as the condensed milk gave it all the sweetness we needed to balance out the dark chocolate. Simply pour your milk and condensed milk into a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Break up your dark chocolate and add that, a long with the vanilla and cornstarch, to the pan. Keep stirring with a whisk until it gets nice and thick. Once thick remove from heat and pour into mugs. Now this recipe really does come out extra thick but it was ridiculously delicious and so tasty. You can only have a little bit at a time but having it right from the stove top, still scrumptiously warm, (careful not to burn yourself) was amazing. We added whipped cream and Italian Lady fingers to decorate. The lady fingers were also perfect for dipping and munching on. This is an absolute must for the holiday season and cold, snowy nights! :)

We hope you enjoyed these recipes. Please let us know if you try making one of these, or both of them, yourselves, we would love to see how you liked them or if you change them up to suit you! :)

 

For a little behind the scenes of us making these scrumptious treats, check out Vlogmas Week 2 over on our YouTube Channel. :)

 

Have a wonderful day!

Love Lucy and Kelly xx