Hot Pumpkin Chocolate

I'm not sure where fall went. When I was forcing teenagers out the door to go run, it was 40 degrees. Now it is 70. I am pretty sure the calendar says November, but I am not buying it. Last night brought thunderstorms and lost power to my area, and it did cool off a little bit. But not enough for me.

In hopes of (or in spite of) a cooler evening, I tried a recipe that has been sitting on my list for quite some time. Actually, this is a heavily modified version of a Pumpkin Latte I found in a now missing check-out aisle cookbook. Have I mentioned my addiction to those??

Anyway, I don't drink coffee. Don't even remotely like coffee. Cannot choke it down. I have never understood how something that smells so incredibly good can taste so bad.

But somehow, the Pumpkin Latte kept calling to me. It looked (and even sounded) really, really good. But I knew the coffee would make me hate it. So, like any other sane person, I figured I would substitute hot cocoa for the coffee. Turns out, this was a great idea...

Take 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and add it to 2 cups of milk into your Cocomotion. I have mentioned how hot chocolate drinkers NEED one of these. Seriously. If need be, however, you can also put the ingredients into a heavy saucepan.
Add in 1 tablespoon cocoa, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Press the "on" button and wait patiently. If your ingredients are in a saucepan, cook on medium heat until hot and stir until mixed.
Add a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy.
This is huge. Two of my favorite ingredients come together at my favorite time of year. The Girl enthusiastically chugged her cup and I had to make some more.

I also went ahead and froze little 2 tablespoon servings of pumpkin puree. Fill up an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. In the morning, put them all into a freezer bag. Then you can just pop them out as you need them.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Hot Pumpkin Chocolate
2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Puree
2 Cups Milk
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Stir all ingredients together into a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until hot. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.