Pumpkin Spice Spiked Hot Chocolate

Man, August is already almost over and we’re now heading into September. You know what that means, pumpkin time!

While I’m not a huge fan of the pumpkin spice overload that occurs between September and November, I do enjoy making the dishes for my family.

For today’s post, I wanted to share a drink that had all the flavors of pumpkin spice but is geared towards adults. Keeping that in mind, don’t be fooled by the marshmallows, this is not a sweet treat.

If that’s what you’re looking for, try our Instant Pot Hot Cocoa or Chocolate Hazelnut Hot Chocolate.

In spite of the brown sugar, the spiked hot chocolate is more of an after dinner drink. With that being said, I feel the hints of molasses work well with the flavors of bourbon and pumpkin spice.

If you enjoy a sweeter hot cocoa, then add more sugar or use sweeteners like Maple Syrup, Stevia, or Monk Fruit.

Now that we’ve gone over that, you can’t say you weren’t warned. Okay, enough talking, let’s get started.

Spiked Hot Chocolate Tips:

• For a non-dairy version of this drink, substitute Almond, Coconut, or Soy Milk for the Whole Milk.
• If alcohol is not your thing, simply remove the bourbon from the recipe to enjoy a pumpkin spice hot cocoa.
• Since you are working with a dairy base, do not let the mixture come to a boil. It only needs to start steaming, once that happens, it’s done.

Spiked Hot Chocolate Instructions:

First, combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. As is the case with most of my recipes, dump everything into one pan or pot, and let it cook.

For a virgin version of this drink, simply exclude the bourbon. Also, if you want to spice things up a bit, you could add a little ground cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg.

Just about any Fall spice will do.

Next, heat the saucepan over medium heat while whisking the cocoa. It’s super important to make sure this spiked hot cocoa is well mixed.

The cocoa powder has a tendency to clump up, so I definitely recommend a whisk for this process. Heating the drink only takes about 10-minutes, so it’s not like your babysitting the stove all day. 

Then, once the hot cocoa starts to steam and all the ingredients have been combined, remove it from the heat. At this point, you want to make sure you didn’t let the spiked hot chocolate come to a boil.

Otherwise, it might break and the ingredients may separate. Plus if it were to boil, then you would cook out all the alcohol. Where’s the fun in that?

Last, transfer the spiked hot chocolate to serving glasses and add any desired garnishes, like whipped cream. Serve and enjoy responsibly!

Seriously, this is a grown-up drink, so please be responsible in your actions. Also, a quick reminder, since this drink is for adults, don’t expect an overly sweet flavor.

Honestly, the sugar is only there to tone down the cocoa powder and take the bite off the bourbon. By American standards, this beverage is not really a dessert drink.