A day on the slopes – or even just an hour shoveling the driveway – calls for a rich, hot drink to help return feeling to frozen digits.
For those of age, consider hot buttered rum. This delicately spiced – but aggressively spiked – drink is deceptively smooth and sweet, so it’s best left until after the hills have been conquered.
To adapt the recipe for a slow cooker and longer simmering time, increase the cider, water and rum by 1 cup each, and substitute several cinnamon sticks for the ground cinnamon. Keep the slow cooker on the lowest setting.
And for the younger set, try hot cherry chocolate from Fred Thompson’s recent cookbook, “Hot Chocolate” ($12.95). This is everything chocolate-covered cherries should be.
Hot buttered rum
1cup brown sugar
1stick (1/2 cup) butter
Pinch salt
1/4teaspoon nutmeg, plus extra for garnish
1/4teaspoon cardamom
1/2teaspoon cinnamon
2cups apple cider
2cups water
2cups rum
Whipped cream
In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, salt, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, apple cider and water. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Ladle the drink into mugs and then top each with whipped cream and a pinch of nutmeg.
Makes 6 servings.
Hot cherry chocolate
6cups whole milk
2cups heavy cream
1 1/2cups chocolate syrup
1/2cup plus 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry syrup
1tablespoon powdered sugar
4red maraschino cherries with stems
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, 1 cup of the cream, the chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup of the cherry syrup. Cook, stirring, until the mixture has bubbles around the edge of the pan. Do not boil. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Use an electric mixer to beat the remaining cream until foamy. While beating, gradually add the powdered sugar and remaining cherry syrup. Beat until soft peaks form.
Ladle the hot chocolate into mugs. Spoon whipped cream over each and top with a cherry.
Makes 4 servings.
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