That drivel about necessity being the mother of invention? Phooey. We all know moms are the actual mothers of invention–at least uber savvy inventions such as Witches Brew, a hot chocolate recipe for the morning after Halloween brouhaha’d up by Elizabeth Mayhew, a Manhattan mom of two, contributing editor to the “Today Show,” and former editor-in-chief of Woman’s Day Magazine. Mayhew–who, mind you, doesn’t resemble the Wicked Witch of the West in the least– just sort of conjured the sweet notion early one November morning maybe six or so Halloweens ago. “I’d always done different things with the leftover Halloween candy, like chop it up and put it in cookies. But this was a sneaky way to get them to drink milk,” she explains. Sneaky, indeed. It couldn’t be easier. She just warmed some milk, poured it into mugs, let the kids plop their chosen trick-or-treating candy in, and dubbed it something irresistible to kids.
Hershey’s Miniatures work really well, notes Mayhew. She’s also found that Kit Kat and Twix bars make really excellent stirrers for the hot chocolate. (There’s that mother of invention again.) While Mom Mayhew is partial to peppermint patties in her mug, her kids are a little less discerning. “My son would put everything in there and it would be a disgusting mess,” she adds, with an audible grimace. Though it doesn’t sound so terrible to us, actually. Anyone else wishing they were a kid again? –Renee Schettler Rossi
LC Better Than Christmas Morning Note
Never was there a better morning than the one after All Hallow’s Eve, provided you have a mom like Mayhew. Were we to indulge in this potation—hypothetically speaking, of course—which candy would we dunk in our moo juice? Depends on our Halloween haul, natch. But what we’re seeing in our crystal ball–well, actually, the shiny bottom of our large saucepan, but close enough–is a gooey, nougaty, satisfying Snickers-flavored Witches’ Brew. We’re actually getting just a little giddy just thinking about it. Although with all the excitement, don’t forget that if you’ll be sharing your mug o’treats with wee ones, just to be safe, strain your Baby Witches’ Brew before letting anyone take a sip, just to stave off any unpleasant surprises. Whatever you do, just don’t joke around as to the whereabouts of your tykes’ loot, as Jimmy Kimmel found out the hard way last year….
Witch's Brew Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 to 1 cup milk
- Leftover chocolate Halloween candy, unwrapped and, if large, chopped into chunks
Directions
- 1. To make the hot chocolate, gently heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warm but not boiling.
- 2. Pour the milk it into a mug. Let your kids add the chocolate candy and stir with a spoon or, ideally, a Kit Kat or Twix bar, just until the chocolate melts.
- 3. Then let the slurping begin.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa from The Culinary Life
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Dine and Dish
- Mexican Hot Chocolate from Leite's Culinaria
- Latte Macchiato from Leite's Culinaria
Witch's Brew Hot Chocolate Recipe © Elizabeth Mayhew. All rights reserved.
[Emma Rudolph] I made the Witch’s Brew hot chocolate today and it came out great. As my roommate said, “Oh my god, this is the best hot chocolate ever!” To convert the stovetop recipe to dorm style, I just microwaved the milk in a microwave-safe mug for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Then I added the candy and stirred until combined. I used one whole normal-size candy bar per mug of milk, so 3/4 to 1 cup milk per candy bar. The end result won’t look as dark as typical hot chocolate. I thought the leftover cookie crumbs on the bottom of the mug from the Twix and Kit Kat were the best part.
Someone just gave me an excellent idea for an adult’s only version of this tasty brew, add a shot of Tia Maria or your favorite “spirit” to spice it up a bit.
Love that!!!
My toddler has no problem drinking her milk, but this should help me out: this way I’m not gorging on snickers – I’m getting my calcium.
A very interesting choice of words, “choke inducing chunks”. That is frightening on so many levels!!
I like how each cup will be a designer’s choice using the recipe
Its one way to get your kids to drink powdered milk without fail.
I used to live in Argentina and they do this all the time! They’re called submarinos (I guess ’cause you get to submerge chocolate goodness in your glass) and you can get them at almost any cafe. Typically they make it with 1/2 of the chocolate bar and serve it the other half of the chocolate bar in case you want it to be extra chocolatey!
Appreciate the cultural lesson, Kristen. Argentina, here I come…
When it comes to sweets its a great country!