Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate

Let’s celebrate National Dairy Month with Florida Milk and a Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate like no other!

Food holidays are a great reason (excuse) to get friends together and celebrate! Since June is National Dairy Month, what better way to celebrate than to join my friends of the Sunday Supper Movement and Florida Milk and create a Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate to share with you.

In the process of my research for this campaign, especially after meeting the lovely people behind Florida Milk at this year’s Sunday Supper Food Wine Conference, I learned so much about this important staple of our daily diet. I was surprised I had many misconceptions about milk, discovered new ways to use dairy, and realized how sometimes a simple frozen hot chocolate can be so much more than a sweet treat. Seriously, so much more!

Top 9 Fun Florida Dairy Facts To Know

1. Lactose Intolerance is not what you think. It’s common to assume if you’re lactose intolerant, you should not drink cow’s milk. I was surprised to read on the Florida Dairy website you can have Lactose-free milk, which is regular milk but with the sugar (lactose) already broken down. This is good news because no one should miss this boozy frozen hot chocolate recipe or a nice glass of milk and cookies. These are some of life’s greatest treats! Check out Florida Milk in the news for more interesting facts. You may find a few surprises of your own.



2. Have you ever wondered how many billion pounds of milk are produced in Florida? 123,000 Florida dairy cows collectively produce about 2.34 billion pounds of milk a year! Wow! That’s 277 million gallons of Florida-produced milk in the grocery store. Each Florida dairy cow produces about 6-8 gallons of milk each day and is milked 2-3 times per day. That’s a lot of frozen hot chocolates! Click to learn more about life on the Florida Dairy Farm.
3. Not all cows are created equal. When I moved to Central Florida in 1997, I would drive around and see hundreds of cattle, grazing in the fields. Since then, many herds have been moved out of the area due to development. Now I wished I had paid more attention to them. Did you know most Florida dairy herds range in size from 150 cows to 5,000 cows? And those beautiful black and white cows called Holsteins and are the predominant type of dairy cow living in Florida


Holstein cows

4. If you find yourself driving through Lafayette (in Northern Florida) and Okeechobee counties (Central/South Florida), you will probably see lots of dairy farms. Those are the leading dairy counties in the state. I’ve driven through Okeechobee a million times on frequent trips to Miami, and never knew. I will be on the lookout next time. Maybe I’ll stop in to a dairy farm and say hello. Will they let me do that
5. Don’t forget to thank your Florida Dairy Farmers. The state’s more than 130 dairy farms are primarily owned and operated by second and third-generation farmers. These families remain committed to producing a fresh supply of wholesome, quality milk, are caretakers of their cows, stewards of the land, & leaders in their communities. I’m thankful these farmers instill in their children the love of the land so they continue the family business for years to come. To learn more about the people responsible for the wholesome dairy goodness we enjoy, “Meet Our Farmers”
6. There’s no waste here. Florida dairy farmers recycle about 170,000 tons of byproducts such as citrus pulp, brewers’ grain and whole cottonseed that are consumed by the cows instead of ending up in landfills
7. “Milk does a body good” I’ve always heard that phrase and now I know why. Milk contains 9 essential nutrients and vitamins: protein, vitamins A, D, and B12, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin, niacin, zinc, and magnesium. 3 cups of milk a day will give you the recommended daily allowance for dairy. (One of these boozy frozen hot chocolate treats will get you a quarter of the way there! Drink up!
8. Dairy is so versatile! Milk is not just for cereal, coffee and frozen hot chocolates. I loved the dairy facial masks and milk bath recipes I made at the Food Wine Conference. They were good enough to eat and slather on your face for smooth skin. Check out Florida Milk in the kitchen for recipes and ideas



9. Florida Milk in Schools: Moms will appreciate how Florida milk is part of school nutrition. Good nutrition is important for kids to develop and grow. For more click here.

Now that we know all these fun facts about Florida dairy, let’s talk about Frozen Hot Chocolates and celebrate National Dairy Month with a sweet boozy treat.

What is Frozen Hot Chocolate? Why is it so famous? and How is this recipe over the top?

When trying to decide what recipe to create for the Florida Milk campaign, I looked through old pictures for inspiration. The ones of my sisters, nieces and I enjoying ginormous ice cream sundaes and dairy treats at Serendipity 3 during the most unforgettable girls weekend in New York City instantly caught my eye. One particular treat stood out – the most famous of them all. The Frozen Hot Chocolate.

NYC Serendipity 3 Famous Frozen Hot Chocolate – 12/10/11

A plethora of frozen hot chocolate recipes exist in the blog-o-sphere, including the most famous one. And yet, I never understood what the craze was all about. Isn’t Frozen Hot Chocolate essentially iced chocolate milk? So I thought. Then, I found out a beverage can be so much more. That’s why I chose to recreate this special recipe with a whole new twist. You’ll soon discover how this Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate is different (and so much better!)

The mention of Frozen Hot Chocolate instantly conjures thoughts of 2001’s romantic comedy ‘Serendipity’, where John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale’s characters fall in love over chocolatey sips at this iconic New York restaurant.
You may think the movie made the drink famous. In reality, it was famous since it’s creation in 1954. Jackie O wanted the recipe. Oprah even named it one of her favorite things. And yet, I still didn’t quite understand the hype.

For more than 6 decades, this restaurant has drawn long lines of fans. Us included. As we stood outside on a cold New York night, waiting to be seated for almost two hours, all I could think about was “this frozen hot chocolate better be good. No. It better be great!” Such build up could only lead to let down. There’s no way iced chocolate milk (so I thought) could be THAT good.

We were finally seated in the kitschy space with Tiffany lamps, antiques, and funky clocks. We ordered several outrageous ice cream sundaes and of course, what else?

“A frozen hot chocolate please”

These fantastic goblets overflowing with dairy goodness and mounds and mounds of whipped cream arrived to the chorus of “oohs and aahs”. Bite after bite, sip after sip, we did nothing but laugh, giggle like schoolgirls, make funny faces and for a brief moment, became kids again. No worries in the world. All of us, enjoying the simple things. Frozen decadent treats. What an amazing time. And to think, it was all prompted by frozen hot chocolate.

Was it worth it? Was all the hype and the long wait time worth it?

You bet!

Those memories of the time we spent together, around the table, are absolutely priceless. I look at the pictures, now missing my sisters more than ever. What I wouldn’t give to be able to go back to that pink marble table. To that moment on December 10, 2011, with my dear sisterhood, frozen hot chocolates and laughter.

This is when a beverage is more than a liquid treat…

A frozen hot chocolate conjured priceless memories. Milk, Chocolate, and Whipped Cream – simple yet so much more. This, I suspect, is why couples fall in love at Serendipity. It’s an experience fueled by the shared love of frozen dairy treats!

When all was said and done though, this famous “Frrrozen Hot Chocolate” was not my all time favorite that night. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, and we loved every minute spent slurping it down. But it was missing just a little something. And I wasn’t sure what that was.

FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE REINVENTED

Fast forward to 2016. The family spent the day at the beautiful snowy retreat of Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge, just outside of Portland Oregon. Sipping hot beverages like the house specialty ‘Bruno’s Brownie Hot Chocolate’, made rich and creamy with whole milk and chocolate, and given a little boozy kick with local hazelnut vodka, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Cointreau orange liqueur was truly outstanding. I wanted to recreate it as soon as I got home to Florida. But, unless I cranked up the AC to stratospheric proportions, there’s no way I would enjoy a hot beverage in the heat of summer. That’s when it hit me.

Eureka!

Make it into a frozen beverage. But wait, was booze what was missing from that frozen hot chocolate years ago? I decided to give the Frozen Hot Chocolate another try. And oh my!

A boozy Hot Chocolate could only be better made frozen!

I don’t advocate adding booze to everything. This indulgent drink can be made non-alcoholic if you choose. Yet, liqueurs provide layers of flavors difficult to recreate with flavored syrups. Plus, they definitely add some fun when friends get together.

Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate Ingredients:

Milk

As a 2% milk girl, I weaned myself, and my reluctant husband, down to 1%, and then non-fat milk following the trend towards reduced fat. Whole milk never made it to the grocery list. Then, I discovered how fantastic whole milk was in lattes and cocktails. Now, I indulge, every once in a while. The creaminess and rich velvety feel on the tongue are hard to match. I used whole Florida milk in this Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate recipe, but of course, you should use whichever milk type makes you happy.

Interestingly, I read an April 2016 article in Time Magazine about an ongoing debate whether whole milk is as bad for you as it was once deemed to be. Isn’t every diet trend eventually debunked? Instead, my philosophy is ‘everything in moderation’ and, that applies to both booze and whole milk.

Chocolate

Here’s a little secret. A true frozen hot chocolate is not iced chocolate milk as I thought.

It’s not a chocolate milkshake, and it is not made with ice cream. According to the coveted Serendipity recipe, kept secret for 50 years and published in the 2004 ‘Sweet Serendipity’ cookbook by founder Stephen Bruce, it is made with a blend of melted chocolate and hot chocolate mix – you know, those little hot cocoa packets you get at the store!

Hot chocolate packets are a mixture of dry non-fat milk, powdered cocoa, and sugar, plus corn syrup, and artificial sugars and additives. I use Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa powder – a hot chocolate mix which does not have high fructose corn syrups and other additives. It does not have powdered milk so I added it for extra richness. In a pinch, use the packet of hot cocoa you have in the pantry. The Hot Chocolate Mix is why you can call this a “frozen hot chocolate!”

The recipe from Serendipity calls for a variety of chocolates. I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate bar cut into pieces and Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate baking chips. The combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate provides the rich chocolate flavor and the sweetness. I reduced the amount of additional sugar since the original recipe doesn’t use liqueurs. These add plenty of sweetness. Feel free to adjust to taste.

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler on the stove or use the microwave. I did the later as I find it easier and faster. Perfect for Easy Entertaining!

Liqueurs

In place of hazelnut vodka, I used Frangelico, an Italian hazelnut liqueur. Clement Creole Shrubb orange liqueur from Martinique in place of Cointreau. Bailey’s Irish Cream has no substitute in my book. Choose your favorite brands, but like the milk and the chocolate, high quality ingredients make the difference. The orange liqueur may be omitted but I found it gives it a nice little zest of flavor, just enough to liven up the nutty flavors.

Make your hazelnut frozen hot chocolate non-alcoholic my substituting liqueurs for hazelnut syrup from your local coffee shop, Bailey’s flavored coffee creamer, and orange extract or zest.

Whipped Cream

You have two options. Go the easy route and use the store-bought real whipped cream or make your own for a more decadent experience. It’s also better for you as you don’t have the artificial additives, just rich heavy whipping cream. The trick here is that it must be super chilled.

Hazelnuts

Did you know 99% of the hazelnut production in the USA comes from Oregon? Using roasted hazelnuts as a garnish together with Florida dairy was like my life marrying my two favorite states – where I was born and where I live.

Serendipity is “Discovering something unexpected and wonderful.” – Stephen Bruce, Founder of Serendipity 3

That’s exactly what this boozy hazelnut frozen hot chocolate is. Decadent, indulgent and topped with mounds and mounds of whipped cream. A creamy dreamy blend of chocolatey goodness.

This recipe is perfect to end a Sunday Supper meal or for a fun gathering of girlfriends who want to go back to simpler times. Surprise them with this boozy frozen concoction and prepare to laugh like schoolgirls all over again.

Cheers!

Go Epicurista

Celebrate June Dairy Month with these awesome recipes from the Sunday Supper Tastemakers:

Milk in the Morning:

• Blueberry Coconut Muffins by Take a Bite Out of Boca
• Lighter Breakfast Quiche by The Healthy Fit Foodie
• Spinach Artichoke Strata by Helpful Homemade
• Strawberry and Cream Breakfast Smoothie Bowls by Family Foodie
• Strawberry Orange Banana Sunrise Crepes by The Gold Lining Girl

Milk during the Day:

• Fettuccine Alfredo by Recipes Food and Cooking
• Hamburger Gravy by My World Simplified
• Homemade Mozzarella by An Appealing Plan
• Langostino Mac and Cheese with Crispy Bacon and Chives by Pook’s Pantry
• Margherita Penne Pasta by Life Tastes Good
• Simple Polenta Recipe by Healing Tomato
• Summer Corn Soup by Casa de Crews
• Sweet Onion Tart by Flour On My Face

Milk in Desserts:

• Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate by GO Epicurista
• Cannoli Cupcakes with Chocolate Pistachio Crunch by The Crumby Cupcake
• Chocolate Eclairs by Love and Confections
• Hot Milk Sponge Cake with Blueberries by The Hungry Goddess
• Mini Bread Puddings with Whiskey Caramel Sauce by Dessert Geek
• Nutty Cookies & Cream Ice Cream by Family Around The Table
• Strawberry Milkshake by Desserts Required
• Southern Buttermilk Pie by Sunday Supper Movement

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement
For the latest milk news and more fun milk recipes, follow Florida Dairy Farmers on social media:
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Florida Dairy Farmers in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own. As always, I only share with you great experiences worth celebrating.

Print

Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

10 mins

 

This boozy hazelnut frozen hot chocolate is even better than the original famous version! Creamy, chocolatey and a bit boozy, it's perfect for a fun night with friends! Easy to make with great quality ingredients like Florida Milk and Chocolate!

Course: Cocktail

Servings: 2

Author: Christina Thomas

Ingredients

Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate

• 1 1/2 cup Milk - I used Whole Florida Milk
• 3 oz Hazelnut Liqueur - I used Frangelico Italian Liqueur
• 3 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
• 3/4 oz Orange Liqueur - I used Clement Creole Shrubb Orange Liqueur
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Hot Cocoa Powder - I used Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa
• 1 oz Milk Chocolate Chips - I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate baking chips
• 2 oz 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate - I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar
• 1 pinch Salt
• 4 cups Ice
• Whipped Cream - See Recipe Below
• Roasted Whole Hazelnuts
• Chocolate Shavings - I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar

Homemade Whipped Cream

• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream - extra chilled
• 3 Tablespoons Powdered / Confectioners Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Boozy Hazelnut Frozen Hot Chocolate

1. Prepare homemade whipped cream (see recipe below), cover with plastic wrap and hold in refrigerator until drinks are ready to be served.
2. Combine sugar, dry milk powder, cocoa powder and salt in small bowl and stir to combine.
3. Place chocolate pieces in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 15 seconds increments, stirring each time, until completely melted.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the melted chocolate and stir to mix.
5. Slowly add ½ cup of milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
6. Pour liqueurs, remaining cup of milk, room temperature melted chocolate mixture and ice in blender.
7. Blend on high to achieve your desired consistency. Think of a frozen daiquiri or frappe consistency.
8. Use a vegetable peeler in long strokes along the edge of the chocolate bar to create chocolate shavings for garnish.
9. Pour frozen drink into a giant goblet, large mason jar or mug and top with a large dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings and roasted hazelnuts.

Homemade Whipped Cream

1. Combine cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whip the cream mixture on medium speed, until cream holds soft peaks.
3. Dollop on top of your frosty beverage and enjoy!