Recipes For Citrus And Spice Cocoa Drink

As you prepare for the herbal cosmetics to gift to friends and loved ones this festive seasons think about the ones that will visit and want something to eat or drink. Don't stick to the usual rice and meat or soup and swallow. Serve them something different and exciting. This fiery beverage is pleasantly spiced -- and spiked! It gets its velvety goodness from cream and chopped dark chocolate with a citrusy burst of flavor from orange peel, finished with a shot of French brandy.

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup light cream
2 tablespoons dried orange peel
4-ounces dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped
½ teaspoon chipotle powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup French brandy

Combine milk and cream in a saucepan. Add the orange peel. (Tip: For easy retrieval, place the orange peel in a mesh tea ball or small muslin bag before adding to the saucepan.) Gently heat the milk mixture on a low simmer for 2-3 minutes to infuse with orange flavor. Remove the orange peel and discard. Add the chocolate, stirring constantly until completely melted. Add chipotle powder and stir to incorporate. Remove pan from heat; stir in brandy. Pour into mugs and top with fresh whipped cream, a whole cinnamon stick and additional grated chocolate, if you wish and serve them.

 Believe me this will take their breath away. It's everything.

A little botanical information about chipotle 

A chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeño pepper. At the end of the growing season, jalapeños naturally ripen and turn bright red. They are kept on the bush as long as possible. When they are deep red and have lost much of their moisture, they are picked to be made into chipotle.

Chipotle have heat and a distinctive smoky flavor. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches (5–9 cm) long, when mature the plant stands two and a half to three feet (75 to 100 cm) tall. Jalapeños have 2,500–10,000 Scoville heat units.

Capsicum annuumis in the Solanaceae or nightshade family. It is an upright perennial or annual shrub usually less than 1 m tall, with small, white, pendent flowers and elongated, yellow, orange or red fruits (berries). It can be distinguished from other types of domesticated peppers by flowers that are solitary rather than in groups, and filaments (thread-like stalks supporting the anther) that are not purple.

 A little botanical information about cinnamon 

Cinnamomum cassia is an evergreen tree of the Lauraceae, or Laurel family. The tree grows to 10–15 m tall with a spread of 6-10 m. Cinnamon has grayish or light brown, papery bark and hard, leathery, elongated leaves that are 10–15 cm long and have a decidedly reddish color when young.

The flowers are small, yellow-white and borne in clusters, the fruit are ovoid purple berries.