Celebrate today with a hot cup of cocoa.
Photo by Patterson Minx | IST.

You can buy rimmers just for cocoa, but cocktail rimmers for chocolate martinis, espresso martinis, peppermintinis and orange blossoms are essentially the same product.

Or, make your own rimmer by grinding bittersweet chocolate bars or coffee, butterscotch hard and peppermint hard candies (or candy canes) to a fine gravel. You can mix ingredients or offer them as separate flavors.

Then, just moisten the rim of the cup or mug with water, dip it onto a plate of rimmer powder to coat, add the hot cocoa and serve. Yes, you certainly can top it with whipped cream!

• Read our article on how to prepare hot cocoa—we assume you’re not serving an instant mix.

Even if you’re not Jewish, why not make some latkes over the weekend, and join the never-ending discussion over which is the better topping: applesauce or sour cream. (In our book, it’s crème fraîche and salmon caviar.)

But, for something a little different:

• Bake a challah with this recipe.
• Make a pasta salad with kosher star-of-David-shaped pasta from The Pasta Shoppe (read our review).
• Review the history of Chanukah, and why a menorah is lit for eight nights.

Star Of David pasta from The Pasta Shoppe.

Indulge someone with indulge caramels.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

There’s something for everyone, from hot and spicy chocolate to “cocktail cups”—a chocolate Margarita rimmed with salt—to chocolate bars wrapped in angel paintings.

Take a bite now.

Want pricier, pretty boxed chocolate gifts? We’ve got plenty of those, too. Some look like sushi!

You can find loose dried cranberries in many specialty food stores, and Ocean Spray Craisins in most supermarkets.

Split the amount of chocolate chips in your recipe by half, making up the remainder with the cranberries. Do the same with the raisins in the oatmeal cookie recipe.

The cranberries add not just holiday flavor but color, too.

• Here’s a cherry chocolate chip recipe that you can use with dried cranberries.

Make cranberry chocolate chip cookies for the
holidays. Photo courtesy Cherry Marketing Institute.

[1] A cup of spiced Constant Comment tea with a matching cake (photo © Bigelow Tea).

[2] Add some cookies: butter, oatmeal, shortbread, spice (photo © Aimees Seavey | New England Magazine).

[3] Constant Comment is also made in decaf and green tea versions (photo © Bigelow Tea).

[4] Relax with a cup, anytime. No cake or cooked required (photo © Bigelow Tea | Facebook)

‘Tis the season to enjoy cinnamon spice tea with your favorite holiday goodies, suggest our friends at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in New York City. Their “Fitz to a Tea” program has a different tea theme each month of the year.

You can add a cinnamon stick and your favorite spices to an unflavored black tea—toss a cinnamon stick, cloves, and allspice into the teapot and infuse with the tea—or purchase spiced tea.

One of the most popular branded spiced teas is Constant Comment, developed by Ruth Bigelow of New York City in 1946 (read the story). Today, it’s available as loose black tea, in tea bags, in decaffeinated bags, and in a green tea version. You can find them all at BigelowTea.com.

Along with your own favorite recipes—try the Constant Comment spice cake recipe below.

> The history of Constant Comment Tea.
 
 
CONSTANT CONMMENT SPICE CAKE RECIPE
 
Ingredients For A 9-Inch Cake

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan.

2. Combine the milk and tea bags in a small saucepan. Heat over medium/low heat until bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL.

3. Remove from the heat and let cool, 15-20 minutes. Remove the tea bags, squeezing out the liquid. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.

5. Add the eggs and whisk to blend. Add the cooled milk; continue to whisk until thoroughly combined.

6. Add flour and baking powder; mix until a smooth batter forms.

7. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake approximately 35 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when touched. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing it from the pan. Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar prior to cutting and serving. (A stencil was used to create the pattern on the cake in the photo.) Serve with whipped cream if desired.
 
 
MORE SPICED TEA RECIPES