Hot Chocolate or Heart Attack in a Mug

Hi all! I'm Jenny from An Apple for the Crafter. With the holiday season upon us I have been in a bit of a blogging rut. I have to thank my dear friend Erin for pulling me out of it. Erin and I have known one another since high school. I was also lucky enough to go to college with her, in fact, we even student taught together at the same school. Erin has always been one of the kindest, most beautiful people I know.

I've been really excited to post because Erin and I went to a Christmas dance together, in a group, our senior year of high school. I rummaged around all my scrapbooking stuff until I found my old high school dance pictures. I found the picture but Erin isn't in it! We picked her up last and so her date, Stuart, is holding a stuffed Santa Claus instead!

I'm the one in blue.

I'm actually glad I went through all this mess though. While this adorable Santa is no replacement for Erin, he is a great holiday tradition maker. My mom made this stuffed Santa forever ago. All throughout the Christmas season my siblings and I would move Santa around the house when no one else was looking. His arms and legs are really thin, and therefore quite pliable so we could put him into some weird positions and places. We would sit him up in the rocking chair with his hands behind his head. Sometimes you'd find him standing on his head next to the grandfather clock. Once, he was spotted asleep under the Christmas tree. It was so much fun to try devising creative things for Santa to do, or places for him to appear (like in high school dance photos!)
My husband and I have continued this tradition on a smaller scale. We have the ever famous Elf on the Shelf. He isn't quite as versatile but we have fun hiding him from one another nonetheless.

Now on to the recipe!

First, I should warn you that this recipe will ruin Swiss Miss and other powdered hot chocolates for you. Second, people will begin asking/expecting you to make this recipe for holiday parties. Third, it is SOOO good because it is literally just chocolate that is hot. :)

Ingredients:
6 Pints of Half and Half
12 Bars of Hershey's Chocolate
1 Can of Spray Whipped Cream

Tools:
Big pot
Big spoon
Ladle

Directions:
Break up the bars into the pre-measured little pieces. I break or cut them further into half just to speed up cooking time.
Pour the half and half into the pot.
Begin slowly adding the chocolate and stirring constantly.
Once the chocolate has melted you can ladle the drink into mugs. Make sure everyone has a spoon because as the drink cools it starts to get a thin film on top, like pudding. I always have the spray whipped cream on hand to add on top because it helps cool the drink faster.

This stuff is so sweet and rich that it counts as dessert to most people. Our friends and family request this recipe every Christmas. I hope you like it too!!

This is mostly a picture of my husband's cool lens mug but it is the only picture I have of our hot chocolate!