One of my favorite breakfasts when I was a kid was a pop tart and a glass of chocolate milk made with Bosco. Now that I’ve grown up a bit, I still like my chocolate milk, but I’ve made the switch from Bosco to chocolate almond milk and instead of pop tarts, I prefer a slice of banana bread or cranberry bread. Also, instead of just plain chocolate milk, I whisk in a little atole (toasted blue corn flour), a dash of ginger, and a few other spices, for a spicy hot beverage that is quite satisfying on a cold morning.
This Spiced Chocolate Atole is a version of champurrado, but is lighter (not as thick) than most champurrado recipes and is also lighter than my winter atole smoothies I shared back in 2013. It is also much easier to make. Nothing to blend, just a little whisking. In the winter, I like it hot, but it can also be served cold for a summer beverage. Just make it the day before and refrigerate.
To read more about atole as well as chocolate atole (aka champurrado), visit my previous atole post.
Spiced Chocolate Atole
- 1 cup chocolate almond milk or you favorite chocolate milk or milk substitute
- 1 – 1 ½ Tbsp. atole (toasted blue corn flour or fine ground blue cornmeal)
- Generous dash of ground ginger
- Generous dash of ground cardamom
- Dash of cinnamon
- 2 to 3 dashes of red chile powder, to taste
- Pour the chocolate milk in a small sauce pan. Whisk in the atole and heat over a medium heat.
- Add the spices and continue to whisk, bringing the milk to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, whisking, for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat, pour into a cup and sprinkle with a little extra chile powder or one of the other spices of your choice.
Chocolate Milk, Milk Substitute – I use Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Chocolate Milk which I really like but some mornings I find it a little too chocolatey (if that’s possible), so I add a little vanilla almond milk. For this recipe it really doesn’t matter what type chocolate milk you use. Any brand or form of chocolate milk or milk substitute works.
Atole – Atole is a toasted blue corn that is ground to a flour or fine cornmeal. It’s easy to find here in New Mexico, but outside of New Mexico you can either order it from a NM supplier or substitute with regular blue cornmeal or blue corn flour. Here are two NM suppliers that I know sell atole:
You could also make this beverage with regular cornmeal or masa and cocoa powder. And if you don’t like chocolate, just leave it out.
Disclaimer:This post was not a post to endorse Blue Diamond Almond milk or any particular business. I just happen to like BD almond milk and like it for my chocolate atole. As far as the atole, I purchase mine from the local co-op, but I know that the suppliers mentioned above do carry it.
This looks like such a warming way to greet the day. I’m not at all familiar with atole, so I’m off to learn about it.
Thanks Susan!
Love the flavors especially cardamom in your drink and cannot wait to try!!And I love almond milk too…what a delicious start to the day !!
Thanks soni! Cardamom is one of my favorite spices as well.
YUM this is kicked up version of hot cocoa that I’m sure I’d love. You can never have too much hot cocoa. Nice recipe!
Thanks Vicki! totally agree that one can never have too much hot cocoa. 🙂
What a delightful adult version of hot chocolate with spices that make this even more warming on those cold evenings! It really has been too long since we had a cup of even just a simple cocoa.
Thank you so much Judit and Corina! Everyone needs a cup of cocoa once in a while. Sounds like it’s time for you to have one. 🙂
Simply damn delicious spiced chocolate!!!
That’s a very sophisticated hot chocolate. I also have recently switched to almond milk and I buy the very same brand! xx
Thanks Charlie! I’m trying to reduce my dairy so I’ve been using more and more almond milk as well as rice milk.
Really nice on a favorite beverage! Like the use of almond milk, all the spices and a hot kick!
I remember how intrigued I was with your earlier atole posts. I want a big old mug of this stuff right now!
This is one great drink to start your day, love to have this now instead of my long black coffee
I relish my visits to your space MJ. Each of my visit to your blog excites me and helps me learn about something new. The spiced chocolate atole sounds fab.
Thank you so much Taruna! I feel the same way about your blog.
Love the spices you’ve added but not sure whether I can get atole here…
Thanks! Atole isn’t very common outside of the Americas, I believe.
This looks like something I would like as we also have a version of “Champorado” here in the Philippines.
Now I need to look up Champorado. Thanks Peachy!
Atole reminds me strangely of one of my favourite desserts as a child: it was a chocolate “pudding”, i.e. milk, cocoa, sugar and everything thickened with some potato flour, served hot; the part I loved most was the “skin” which formed at the top…
I am also a fan of almond milk (I have a splash of it with coffee in the morning instead of soy milk which is not as tasty), so now I’d try it with this milk instead!
The spicy kick would be such a welcome variation now that I know I’m a chilli addict 😉 (Though even as a child I loved spicy food and luckily my mum allowed me as much of chilli as I wanted). Beautiful chocolate treat for cold days!
Thanks so much Sissi! This could be turned into a pudding if you add more corn flour, but I’ve tried that and I personally was too much of a fan. I’m still working on it though. I think you would really like this if you like almond milk and I know you like chile. 🙂 That’s funny about your mum because mine was the same. We had a bottle of Tabasco and a jar of pickled jalapeno on the table every night. We’ve got iron stomachs as a result of it. 🙂
I must check if I still like this dessert… I haven’t had it for… at least 25 years! It was rather a tea treat than a dessert served after a meal (it was quite filling). (Now that I think, one of the popular desserts when I was a child was a mixture of raw egg (or yolk maybe?) with cocoa and sugar! Children loved it because they were able to prepare it alone, without touching the oven, add the ingredients we wanted and we had fun stirring it until it changed the colour in the glass. I wonder if I’d like it now…I’ve completely forgotten it).
Raw egg, cocoa and sugar? That sounds quite interesting. Let me know if you find the recipe. I’d love the try it!
I think you might be very disappointed… I have just checked to be sure if it’s yolk or whole egg; the recipe is veeeery simple: you put for example two yolks into a bowl, add 2 teaspoons sugar and whisk until it becomes smooth. Then you add a heaped tablespoon of bitter cocoa (I mean unsweetened) and whisk more. Taste, adjust the sweetness and… that’s it! It’s runny…
I remember I liked it very very cold so maybe it’s good to put it for some time in the fridge. (I have seen it’s called “Polish eggnog”, but it’s without alcohol, since it was a typical dessert for children… but I suppose now that we are adults we can add a splash of something… like Cointreau maybe?rum?
I love runny egg yolks over pasta and bread, but whisked with sugar and cocoa…that’s WAY out there for me. 🙂 But then, this could be one of those “don’t knock it til you try it” recipes. The eggs I get from a local farmer are as fresh as you can get, so I might just have to give this a try. My curiosity has been peaked. 🙂 A little Cointreau sounds like a good idea! thanks! I’ll let you know how I like it.
Very hot sounds really good about now! Our temps will drop into the sub-zero range tonight–ugh. What a terrific way to wake up in the morning–the chocolate and spice combo sounds divine!
Oh Liz, I don’t know how y’all are dealing with those cold temperatures. Well, this would definitely help to warm you up. Thanks!
I don’t think I’ve ever had a spiced chocolate milk before – this Spiced Chocolate Atole sounds so comforting MJ!
Thanks Shashi! It’s quite good. 🙂
yes you are right we hot chocolate fans, I am going to try this spiced version.
Hope you enjoy it Swathi!
I, too, remember the joys of Bosco and have been eating more and more dark chocolate laced with chile lately. So, yes, I’m looking forward to trying this!
Thanks Melodie! Chocolate and red chile is a match made in heaven, isn’t it? 🙂
I love your spicy chocolate bevies MJ and I’m tickled that you enjoy this one in the morning! Yeehaw — great way to add a little kick to your day for sure. I had to look up Bosco – don’t think I’ve ever seen that brand in Canada. We had “Quik” — ah, the childhood classics. I do remember your atole smoothie and the steam coming up from it 😀 — the corn flour acts as a thickener if I’m recalling correctly. So unique. I’ve never tried flavored almond milk but the chocolate version sounds just right in this recipe.
Thanks Kelly! There have been a few people that said they had never heard of Bosco. I wonder if it was a southern US thing. It certainly was big in the south when I was a kid. But then so was Quik…Nestle’s Quik. My brother preferred it, but I preferred Bosco. Yes, the corn flour is a thickener, the more you add, the thicker it gets. I’m trying to cut back on dairy so I’ve been trying all different types of milk substitutes. Right now, the vanilla almond milk and rice milk are my favorite, but when it comes to chocolate flavored…the almond milk is the best! IMO. 🙂
Chocolate and a little spice, what could be better? Yummy!
Woo hoo…..I have never ever heard of adding corn flour to milk, but that makes so much sense. The texture would be so awesome. I never heard of bosco, but I am so willing to try this.
Thanks Minnie! The texture is a creamy than normal chocolate milk. You do get a little bit of the bigger pieces of cornmeal that sink to the bottom of the cup, but that doesn’t bother me.:) Bosco…It was all over the south when I was growing up. In my house it was a battle between Bosco and Nestle Quick. 🙂
Omg! This recipe is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! You took amazing pictures!
I love the little kick with a chili powder just what you need on a cold morning.
you got that right! 🙂
This sounds very unique combination. Something so new. Amazing, sounding really tempting.
Adding blue cornflour to the chocolate drink is something completely new to me. And I love all the warm spices that you have added here. Excellent!
What a new concept for chocolate, you got me so curious! 😀
Thanks Lily! this yield a thicker, spicer chocolate milk…something I just love!
That sounds delicious but I have no idea where we’d find atole here in Australia. 🙂
Thanks Maureen! Finding atole or even blue corn in Australia might be pretty difficult. 🙂
very very interesting!!!!!
MMM. I will definitely have to try this one. 🙂
I need to try this, adding chilie powder will def warm me up.
Mmm, no doubt this will warm the soul! I love almond milk too and need to try the chocolate flavor! Stay warm, my friend, stay warm!
Roz
Oh yes, it definitely do warm the soul Roz! Thanks so much!
I haven’t thought of Bosco in a long, long time. Used to love that stuff. Which means I’d love this! I really need to use almond milk more often — just never think to buy it. But I will, I will. 😉 Really nice recipe — thanks.
When I first tasted the Chocolate Almond it took me bake to Bosco. Good stuff. 🙂 If you liked Bosco, you will love this John. thanks for stopping by!