This Favorite Gingerbread Spiced Hot Chocolate recipe will leave you with an amazingly delicious holiday drink! There’s no coffee involved so your kids can enjoy it too plus it’s ready in less than 10 minutes!
Did you notice the holiday season started? No? So you haven’t bought a Starbucks drink in the festive red cup yet?
#psl is over for another year which means #gbsl announces the start of all things red, white and green. And yes guys, #gbsl does mean Gingerbread Spice Latte and no, I don’t expect it to catch on. But either way, this is a super easy holiday drink, perfect for the kids as there’s no coffee in it!
How to make this hot chocolate
Now about this recipe – you might be hesitant with putting molasses in a chocolate drink. I was too! But believe you me, no getting an authentic gingerbread taste without those molasses!
There’s also some honey in there because no gingerbread recipe is truly complete without honey.
And it’s so simple – just whisk all ingredients together in a small pot, heat up, pour into a hip mason jar (OK, a normal cup will do as well – bonus points if it’s red!) and top with an insane amount of whipped cream.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t use blackstrap molasses, they’re too bitter. Regular molasses (like for baking cookies) are perfect here.
- You can put the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 2 hours if you like. Great for a party!
- Serve with whipped cream and marshmallows for the ultimate treat!
This is such a festive drink – rich with warm spices and so perfect for the holidays. I hope you’ll give it a try to cozy up with!
More holiday comfort
You can also browse all of my Christmas recipes here, or all of my drink recipes here!
Favorite Gingerbread Spiced Hot Chocolate
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 teaspoons gingerbread spice (if you don’t have gingerbread spice mix readily available you can use a mix of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger)
- ¼ cup dutch processed cocoa powder unsweetened
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup sugar or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dark molasses
- 1 pinch salt
- Whipped cream and marshmallows optional for topping
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small pot and bring to a simmer while whisking. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and serve hot topped with whipped cream if desired.
Jennifer says
I know this post is not brand new but hopefully this comment will get to you. I want to make gingerbread hot cocoa to put in packets and use your gingerbread spice mix. Since it is a powder, I thought of putting molasses powder in it also. Do you think that would work? And if so, how much would you put? I’m excited to try it!
Nora says
Jennifer, I can see molasses powder working, but I have never tried it so can’t say for sure. I highly recommend making a single serve to try and see for yourself!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
this is gorgeous and festive. . love how you styled these photos!!
Nora says
Thank you so much Alice!
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen says
I’m all over this #gbsl! errr #gbshc. I’ll help you make it a thing. Also, I love your photography – it’s so light and airy with vibrant colors.
Nora says
Ha, yes! #gbsl/hc will take over the world 🙂 Thank you so much Sarah!
Danielle says
I think this gingerbread spiced hot chocolate sounds better than a pumpkin spice latte! I love how quickly this comes together too, such a great idea. Pinning this to try later! Thanks for sharing, Nora 🙂
Ashley | The Recipe Rebel says
This looks totally amazing! The holiday drinks at Starbuchs are the hardest ones to resist — I had a praline something yesterday and it was SO good. I totally need to get into some more holiday baking!
Nora says
Thank you Ashley! Yes it’s sooo true – I’m glad my next Starbucks is quite a drive away so I’m not tempted too often 😀
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Well that might be the prettiest cup of hot chocolate I’ve ever seen Nora! I love that you did gingerbread spiced version, sounds amazing. And Christmas is in full swing at coffee shops. I went to Peet’s Coffee on Monday to meet a friend. Christmas coffee cups were out strong, and they were playing Christmas music. It was November 3! Oh well, luckily I loooove Christmas. And can’t wait to try this gorgeous hot cocoa.
Just added you to my reader! Looking forward to seeing what you cook up next, and becoming internet friends : )
Did you just have a baby? I’ll have to do a little research on your blog and find out! If so, congrats momma!
Nora says
Awww thank you Natalie! I love Christmas too, but I always try not to get sick of it before it’s actually December 25th 🙂
Yes, my baby girl is almost 11 weeks now! And she’s napping right now (a very rare thing!) so I can catch up on some blog work without rocking a baby in my arms at the same time 😉
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
I’m usually the Swiss Miss hot chocolate type. I.e. pre made in a little pouch with marshmallows. But all the hot chocolate recipes I’ve been seeing on blogs lately has me thinking I’ll try it the authentic way! This looks delicious!! The molasses does scare me a bit, though. Is there a such think as extra dark molasses? Whatever it was, I accidentally bought the most potent type, and oh boy, I could smell that stuff for days after.
Nora says
Yes you should try to make your own, it’s soooo much better 🙂 Honestly? I have no idea if there’s extra dark molasses, we just have one kind of molasses here in Switzerland. Just the normal stuff 🙂 There’s actually just a very small amount in the recipe compared to the amount of milk and you really can’t tell they’re there – it just gives the whole thing this authentic gingerbread taste 🙂