A little rain, a little thing called November and suddenly Houston thinks it’s okay to be 40 degrees out, gray and COLD. But for once, that was totally fine with me since the chilly weather was the perfect backdrop for a long-awaited hot cocoa bar party!
Karen is one of those friends with whom I could literally spend all day trading delicious links back and forth. Ever since seeing this cute bar on Kevin and Amanda’s blog, we’ve been wanting to throw our own, and luckily, last Friday was the perfect, super chilly night to do it!
As usual, there was an overabundance of food–I made Joy the Baker’s vegan pumpkin bread, alfajores, and these incredible blackberry goat cheese thumbprint cookies from Two Red Bowls; friends brought pan dulce, pumpkin muffins, gingerbread cookies and chocolate bread pudding–and everyone crammed into my poorly situated apartment that lends itself to awkward pockets of people standing here, a group of people sitting there. But it was a bunch of my favorite people + cookies + hot chocolate, so I think we were okay.
Here’s what we did + some tips if you want to throw your own hot cocoa bar!
We made four hot chocolate “bases” and kept them warm in four separate pots on stove. People could grab mugs from the counter and fill up with their preferred flavor, or mix and match:
- Dark hot chocolate (using whole milk)
- White chocolate peppermint (<–this recipe, using a mix of whole + almond milk with a tiny drop of peppermint oil)
- “The Best Hot Chocolate You’ll Ever Have” (a mix of coconut + almond milk)
- Nutella hot chocolate (we used almond milk, though if you can tolerate dairy, this one would probably be better with whole milk. Solely almond milk made for a thin consistency)
Make sure you have enough (1) mugs (for drinking) and (2) ladles (for serving)! Luckily, friends were able to bring some mugs to supplement my collection, but I’d recommend looking at a thrift store like Goodwill for some cheap, unique mugs if you’re in the market for more anyway. If you keep each base over low heat on the stove, make sure to give them a stir once in awhile.
We spread the toppings out on a table in the living room, where people could choose from: whipped cream, cinnamon, toasted flaked coconut, mini marshmallows, chili powder, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, Valhrona cocoa powder, peppermint schnapps, and Bailey’s.
In a perfect world, I would have had cute little calligraphied papers suggesting different topping combinations, but I ran out of time–food for thought if you throw your own hot cocoa bar party!
So tell me–what’s the best holiday party you’ve ever been to?
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