Yes, I am still here! It has been a good long while, as I have dedicated the last month to home and work (the kind that actually pays the bills!). But here are two quickie upgrades for two nonalcoholic winter drinks and it will only take a moment. In fact, I will steal this one from my own Facebook post of Jan. 5
Find the long cinnamon sticks at groceries that ofer authentic Mexican products
So, aside from more experimenting with chili and hot apple cider ever since, the usual kid-stamp-of-approval recipe is: Warm the cider in a saucepan, pour into a mug, sprinkle with cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick if you’ve got!
My son thinks the disappearing candy cane is so cool…
The second is a way to stay cozy and add interest to your hot chocolate. Simply add one of those broken candy canes leftover from the holidays or a hard red and white peppermint candy from the last moderately priced family restaurant you were at to the mug. As it dissolves, it adds minty loveliness to the cocoa! And that’s all for today….stay warm and if you can, stay home!
Hot, Cheap & Easy 
Ha ha – I imagine the cider would be quite good with a tiny pinch of chilli – I often add it to mulled wine, but a big sprinkle could blow your head off! Thinking about it, I’ve seen people add chilli to hot chocolate too – I think the Aztecs used to combine both 🙂
Yes, chili and chocolate were quite the thing…mixed with corn mush as well….
I thought for a minute you were combining cider and cocoa and thought that very intriguing. I think it’s probably better to enjoy each separately!
That is very funny! I don’t know tha apple and chocolate have much affinity….but who knows?