Dark Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate tastes just like those holiday chocolate orange treats. It so simple and so delicious, it will be your new favorite treat for cool winter nights.

I have a friend at work.  Amazing, right?  Anyway, she knows how much I love chocolate and orange.  In particular, that chocolate orange that you hit on a hard surface to break the orange sections apart.  You know what one I’m talking about, right?

Well, I think every year it’s her goal to make sure I have one of those oranges.  Be it during the holiday season or after the holiday for the half price holiday candy.  She loves the half price holiday candy.  I mean, who doesn’t, right?

Not only do they taste delicious, but it’s always fun to release some stress smacking that thing on your desk or table.  Then opening it up and pulling apart the sections that are molded to look like orange sections.  Finally, biting a piece off and letting the chocolate and orange flavors fill your mouth.

Who’s drooling?  Because I sure am!

A few years ago, I took this combination and made the most delicious macaron!  Tangerine and dark chocolate macaron was my homage in macaron form to that delicious chocolate orange ball.  It had freeze dried tangerines and extract in the shell for that perfectly fresh tasting orange flavor.  The macaron were filled with a delicious dark chocolate ganache.  You could easily put some orange liquor in there for a double dip of orange flavor.

As much as I love the flavor combination, I haven’t made many recipes with that flavor combination.  This dark chocolate orange hot chocolate is the second recipe.  And, you guessed it!  I plan on remedying this issue this year.  We do have a sweets week coming up.  I might have to make something chocolate orange for that event.

Stay tuned!

I don’t know what the deal with chocolate and orange.  Maybe the flavor of the citrus cuts through the richness of the chocolate.  Or is it the sweetness of the orange pairing with the bitter of the dark chocolate?  Whatever it is, I cannot resist anything that has chocolate and orange together.

When we decided on the inaugural event of this new group, I knew I had to make hot chocolate.  And I knew it had to be chocolate orange hot chocolate.  But you know me well enough to know that I’m not a milk chocolate fan.  So, for me, it had to dark chocolate orange hot chocolate.

Yes, that’s a mouthful.  And when you have a mouthful of this rich, chocolaty, and orange flavored hot chocolate you’re going to love it as much as I do.  You’re going to love it even more when you find out that all you have to do is scald some milk and chop some chocolate.

Easy Peasy Orange Squeezy!

I have a confession to make.  I have not ever made homemade hot chocolate.  There is absolutely no excuse for this.  Is super easy to make.  It takes very little ingredients.  And home-made hot chocolate tastes amazing!!  It’s so creamy, rich, and delicious.

You could easily heat the milk, cream, extract, and sweetener in the microwave.  Yup!  I said it!  Heat it in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on this Dark Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate because you don’t want it to boil over.  But once it’s heated, you add the chocolate and stir.  If it doesn’t melt, pop it back in there and heat for a minute at a time until it does melt.  Pour then serve.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any easier!  It did!

I must caveat something, though.  You’re going to need quality orange extract.  If it’s not quality orange extract, then it’s just going to taste fake, like alcohol, and gross.  For a quality orange extract, I’d recommend LorAnn Orange Emulsion or Nielsen-Massey Pure Orange Extract.  Both of those will result in a delicious orange flavor that tastes real and not fake.

I know what you’re thinking.  And no, you can’t just put orange juice or even concentrated orange juice in Dark Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate.  I mean, unless you want to chew your hot chocolate.  It will just curdle the milk and cream.  For those that haven’t made homemade buttermilk one of the ways to do that is to put lemon juice in milk.  It just turns it into something I don’t want to drink.

Now, Nana used to drink buttermilk, but I most certainly couldn’t.  However, I do love to put buttermilk in my baking.  It makes muffins so tasty, moist, and light.  You add a little to pancakes and waffles.  I add some to cupcakes and a little extra baking soda for an extra lift.  You should try it sometime if you haven’t already.

So, no, you can’t just put orange juice or concentrate in with the milk and cream.

I would start with one teaspoon and taste it just to make sure it’s just enough orange flavor for you.  I went with a whole tablespoon in mine, but I like orange flavor.  Most will probably like between 1 and 2 teaspoons.  Just make sure you add a little and try it before adding more.

Of course, this could mean you’ll have to make a second batch because you’re “sampling” might lead you to drinking it all.  This is THAT good!  The chocolate flavor is right with just enough sweetness.  The orange flavor is prominent but not so much that it over powers the chocolate.  Then there’s the cream richness of the, well, cream!

And, I will have to admit that this Dark Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate tasted super good because I’m sick.

And when I’m sick, I want comfort in a mug, a blanket, and either a good book or binge watch a good show.  Right now, I’m hooking on the Curse of Oak Island.  I’m not sure why, but it’s just gained my interest right now.

I’ve already gone through all the Call the Midwife episodes and even went through the Vanity Fair.  Both are great shows!  At least I liked them.  I binge batched the prior season of Outlander.  Such a great show!!  I haven’t seen this season yet.  We don’t have Starz.  I signed up for the free 5 days to binge through last season.

If nothing else will do, then I just start watching all the Disney movies I can.  My favorite being Dumbo.  I can’t believe they’re making a live action version of the movie.  I hope it sticks true to the story.  We’ll just have to see how it turns out.  I’m sure Disney won’t do a half-assed movie from a classic.

This is the first event from a new group that we created.  It will post recipes on Sunday.  We hope it will be a great group that is supportive of its blogger members.  We could all use more support for each other, that’s for sure.  I hope you enjoy our first event and will follow the group and all their delicious recipes!

Be sure to see what the other participants are serving up this week.  There’s some mighty tasty drinks to warm you up this winter.

Drinks to Warm You Up

• Homemade Vanilla Syrup and Caramel Macchiato by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Dark Chocolate Orange Hot Cocoa by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Hot Chocolate Eggnog by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hot Malted Cocoa by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Original Irish Coffee by Family Around the Table
• Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate by Palatable Pastime
• Red Velvet Hot Cocoa by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Spiced Caramel Apple Cider by Sweet Beginnings