Chocolate

White chocolate adds a bit of luxury to the steaming brew.

This recipe calls for semisweet chocolate; try a Mexican chocolate such as cinnamon-flavored Ibarra from Guadalajara if you can. If using Ibarra, omit the cinnamon sticks and brown sugar.

Peppermint schnapps makes this drink a candy cane with a kick, but the liquor can be omitted. Either way, indulge and top the hot chocolate with whipped cream and more crushed peppermint candy.

When the use of chocolate became common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, chocolaterías opened in Madrid, serving hot chocolate to weary voyagers and the homeless. In Spain, the warming elixir is distinguished by the addition of spice, but especially by its rich, frothy texture, achieved by heating and beating it several times. Traditionally, a wooden hand mill called a molinillo is used, but a whisk works as well.

This recipe should be made with traditional Sicilian chocolate (which contains wheat starch) as made by L'Antica Dolceria Bonajuto in Modica, Italy. It's available via their website at http://ragusaonline.com/bonajuto/_index.htm