Three Hot Drink Recipes for a Cozy Holiday Season

Even if our Southern Christmases won't include snow, we still love to celebrate the holiday season with cozy drinks by a glowing fireplace. Our mornings start with a favorite mug filled with coffee and our afternoons might end with a cup of hot tea, but when it's time to mark a festive occasion we'll need something sweet. Southern Living Test Kitchen Professional Ivy Odom chose three warm Christmas drinks to inspire your intimate, at-home celebrations this year.

Recipes:

Mama's Hot Chocolate Mix
Pineapple Wassail
Hot Mulled Bourbon Apple Cider

Hot cocoa is an obvious choice, but you can always take a classic hot chocolate up a notce. Consider adding dark chocolate, dulce de leche, and Drambuie liqueur. Add half-and-half instead of milk to making every sip extra creamy too. Don't forget to top your serving with homemade whipped cream and a few crunchy chocolate rolled wafer cookies for a truly decadent drink.

For our next sipper, we'll need to go a-wassailing! You've heard the song, but have you ever made the hot Christmas drink yourself? This traditional beverage has roots in England, but we gave the spiced apple cider a Southern spin with our Pineapple Wassail recipe. Made with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and apricot nectar, wassail will fill your home with the best smells of the season.

No holiday drink list would be complete without at least one batch of hot mulled apple cider. In true Southern fashion, we upgrade our version with a bit of Kentucky's finest. Start with store-bought apple cider, then add in a few flavorful additions like cinnamon candies and orange juice, and finish with nearly a cup of bourbon. In just 10 minutes, you'll have a signature drink that your family will request year after year.