Peppermint Dark Hot Chocolate

With the weather cooling down quite a bit, Paul and I decided we wanted hot chocolate to go with our peanut butter cookies! I already had dark chocolate and milk and knew how to make the concoction- the ingredients are in the title... Hello. While I was throwing it all together, Paul was disheartened that we didn't have any peppermint sticks to go with it. 

Trying to console his broken spirit, I had a light bulb. I don't have peppermint candy, but I do have peppermint essential oil which has 0 sugar, may I add! I used to make peppermint patties with it so I already knew it was safe to consume. (** Note: Not all essential oils are safe to consume! Please use this FDA's list to check before you consume any!)

Cooking with Essential Oils 

*ALWAYS check the grade of oil you use before you consume them. Not all oils are created equally and you want the BEST quality before you put it in or on your body. There are many companies that provide this quality. I use this one. 

It's best to add essential oils at the end of cooking when possible. It will give them less time to evaporate, therefore preserving the flavor. With that said, essential oils are PACKED with flavor. All you need is just a few drops. That goes for anytime you're adding any oil to food. If you happen to be making a recipe that you can't add them at the end, you can add a few more drops to combat the evaporation that will take place. 

Some oils such as cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and clove are stronger than most oils. One drop may even be too much in some recipes. You could use a toothpick and put less than a drop if you wanted. Be extra careful with those!

-Side rant: Essential oils can be so expensive because they are so concentrated. Just a few drops of lemon essential oil is equivalent to a teaspoon of lemon extract. My organic peppermint essential oil has already lasted me over a year and I use it in pretty much every single thing I make. It's one of my go to oils.  Best $26 I've ever spent.

Rant over. Please enjoy this delicious hot chocolate! :)

Peppermint Dark Hot Chocolate

(With Essential Oils)

Cook Time: 5 min.        Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups milk (I use 2%, but any milk will work!) 
2. 3/4 cups dark chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa)
3. 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
4. 1-2 drops peppermint essential oil
5. whipped cream
6. cinnamon

 Directions:

• Heat milk on medium-high in a pan for about 3 min
• Stir in dark chocolate till melted
• Remove from heat
• Stir in vanilla extract and peppermint essential oil to taste (Start with 1 drop and go up from there)
• Pour in a pretty mug
• Top with too much whipped cream
• Sprinkle with cinnamon
• Lick those lips!

Note:

Peppermint Oil has some incredible benefits! They give peppermints to students before big tests for a reason! It can relieve headaches, ease digestive symptoms, improve energy, and so much more! Just another reason to add some to your hot chocolate!

I've linked Organic Peppermint Oil because that is the oil that I used. RMO certified organic essential oils come from plants that are grown and harvested on USDA certified farms. While they only have 10 oils that are certified organic, they do require that all of their essential oils come from farms that maintain organic practices and standards. This just means that as long as it is an edible oil, it does not have to be labeled organic for it to be safe to consume.