Just down the street with dangerously easy access from our Tulsa condo is the Coffee House on Cherry Street. This is where we go when we feel like enjoying something a little different from our usual latte. Although there are several delicious-sounding specialty drinks on the menu, I can’t bring myself to order anything but their Grizzly Bear. It has my favorite flavors: coffee, chocolate, and cinnamon – with a healthy dash of spicy cayenne that sneaks up on you yet complements the other ingredients. This is the drink I want when it’s cold and rainy.
But we aren’t always within walking distance to Cherry Street, so I’ve recreated the drink for Kel and me to enjoy at our country home which is far, far away from cozy coffee shops. The updside is mine is a sugar-free version that gets a chocolate boost from the judicial use of stevia-sweetened cocoa syrup. By the way, if you haven’t tried an Aeropress to make coffee, I highly recommend it. It’s quick, simple to use and the coffee is out of this world delicious.
If this sounds tasty, you may also like Slow Cooker Dirty Chai. It’s also sugar-free.
The Grizzly Bear: Hot Chocolate with a Bite
- Prep Time: 2
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Rich and creamy with deep, dark flavor, you get a double dose of heat from a mug of this non-dairy, sugar-free hot cocoa!
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups non-dairy milk
- 1 cup coffee
- 5–6 Tbsp. cacao or cocoa powder
- 1–2 Tbsp. NuNaturals Cocoa Syrup, or other sweetener to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and gently heat. Whisk frequently to incorporate the cacao powder.
When hot, divide between two large mugs.
Notes
I use a stevia-sweetened syrup here because I try to avoid refined sugar as much as possible, but of course, feel free to use whatever sweetener you prefer.
Keywords: chocolate, cocoa, cacao, beverage, snack, winter, comfort food
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