Growing up we were never allowed to take down any of the Christmas decorations until Three Kings Day/Dia De Los Reyes (January 6th)… the tail end of the 12 days of Christmas. My grandfather would tell us we had to wait for the Three Kings to arrive bearing gifts. I would look forward to the day by placing my shoes outside my front door to be filled with a gift, and in the evening we would cut into the rosca.  This year will be no different in the fact that the decorations will stay up till Jan.6th, I will make a rosca de reyes with a few toy babies in the middle, and call a few friends over to celebrate Dia de Los Reyes with me and my family. Usually the highlight of the evening is cutting the rosca to see who gets the baby (who ever gets a baby in their slice of rosca has to make a tamale dinner on Feb. 2nd for the group), but it can’t fully be enjoyed without a cup of hot chocolate. Chocolate caliente hecho con agua is my ideal type of hot chocolate. It is made with a water base that really allows you to fully taste the divine Mexican chocolate, and at the very end milk is added, but not a lot in comparison to the water. It’s really special and should be made anytime a cold day drops it’s temperatures down and you want warm comfort in a cup.

I decided this Three Kings Day I am going to go simple and make it easy on myself by just serving this chocolate and rosca.  I made this recipe really easy for you too….. watch the video below to see exactly how to make it.

Ingredients for chocolate caliente hecho con agua:

• 7 – cups water
• 2 – cinnamon sticks
• 1 – teaspoon vanilla
• 3 – Mexican chocolate tablets (I used Abuelita)
• 2 – cans evaporated milk

Are you getting ready for the holidays? I like to cozy up to a nice cup of hot chocolate every time the moment presents itself. Just got home from holiday shopping at Walmart? A cup of hot chocolate. Gonna decorate the tree? A cup of hot chocolate. Baking cookies? A cup of hot chocolate. Christmas morning? You get the picture. My grandfather always sipped on a cup of hot chocolate during the holidays growing up and I followed suit, except this year I wanted to make it more interactive for my son, and possibly give my hot chocolate away as a gift. I thought “how can I transform that holiday magic from my cup into gifts for my family and friends?”  I decided to make hot chocolate cubes, that could be stirred into a cup of hot milk, and or be eaten as a lollipop. Wrap them up and tie them with a bow.

Ingredients for hot chocolate cubes:

• Chocolate chips or pieces (semi sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white)
• Silicone ice cube tray
• mini marshmallows
• candy cane sticks
• christmas sprinkles
• lollipop sticks

Directions:

1. In a double boiler melt chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler: place water in a pot over a high flame then place a metal bowl over the boiling water in the pot and put the chocolate in there, stir till melted.)
2. Pour melted chocolate into silicone ice trays (fill 3/4 of the way up) and place in the fridge for 25 minutes. 
3. Remove from fridge and insert candy cane sticks, decorate with marshmallows, sprinkles, and for the cubes without a candy cane stick insert a lollipop stick. 
4. Place back in the fridge for 2 hours.
5. Remove from fridge and let sit for 5 minutes, then carefully push them out of the silicone ice cube tray. 
6. If you wrap them up they work great…
7. Or stir one into a cup of hot milk and embrace the warm chocolate beverage.  They’re great for coffee as well. 
8. Enjoy!