Boozy Hot Cocoa Bar

What says winter and snuggles more than a nice steaming cuppa hot cocoa?

What’s better than just plain cocoa? Yep. That’s right! Hot cocoa with the possibility of alcohol. Bring on the booze!

I love the idea of having a little cookie decorating party or a just a holiday party that has a boozy cocoa bar in the corner for you to play with. Each of your guests can go up to the bar and customize their drinks to their liking. This is great for picky people (liiike me) and nondrinkers who want to leave their cocoa un-boozy.

I don’t typically have a lot of spirits or liqueurs on hand, so I grabbed some minis at my local liquor joint. The minis make it so much cuter, and you can have a wide variety for your guests. You can also set out any extracts you have on hand for more flavor fun.

Drink bars are so great because you can show off a little creativity with very little effort. You get to bring out those mugs that you’ve never or hardly ever used (these ones came from Amazon). Grab your favorite jars, cups, bowls, ramekins… and fill ’em up with all the sweets you can imagine!

There’s all sorts combinations of candies and cookies you can use for toppings. I toasted up some coconut flakes for a yummy tropical vibe. I also toasted some vegetarian marshmallows by putting them on a sheet pan and using my blow torch.

This cocoa recipe is SO easy, and is perfect to add anything and everything to!

Hot Cocoa:

1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Add ins: (anything you want!! This was my spread:)

Chocolate chips
Coconut flakes, toasted
Vegetarian marshmallows (or regular)
Toffee chips
Lindt chocolate truffles
Pirouette cookies
Whipped cream
Booze in all varieties!
Extracts

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder and sugar. Add about 1/4 cup milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a low boil on medium heat, whisking constantly so it doesn’t scald. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla and whisk together and cook until hot! Transfer to a serving bowl or keep in pot to serve. Arrange all your add-ins as you please in cute dishes and create your bar space to serve.

And that’s it! So easy! What’s everyone doing for the holidays? (Hopefully it now involves a hot cocoa bar!)

I’ll be going to my oldest sister’s house in Indiana for Thanksgiving. They are in the middle of renovating their house so I can’t wait to see it. Perhaps steal some ideas for when Nev (the bee obsessed boyfriend) and I move in together. Havenly has some great resources for redesigning your home!

As fully covered in previous posts, I love this time of year. I live for being cozy, all the holidays, the best foods and general merriment.

A boozy hot cocoa bar is exactly what I want to see at a holiday party. 😀