Traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate

1. In a small saucepan, combine milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and chipotle chile.

2. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds using the back of the knife. 3. Drop vanilla bean and seeds into the milk.

4. Bring milk to medium-high heat. Whisk occasionally until it starts to bubble.

5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, whisking occasionally and taking care not to scorch the milk.

6. Using a slotted spoon, remove nutmeg, vanilla, chipotle and cinnamon.

7. Over a bowl, sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar to break up any lumps, then slowly whisk into milk mixture and stir until smooth.

8. Serve warm with marshmallows and your favorite toppings, such as a dash of cinnamon.

Tips + Tricks:

• This calls for a dry chipotle chile, not the type in adobo sauce. The longer you infuse the spices into the milk, the more intense the flavor.

• Milk burns easily so make sure you are whisking regularly. Scorched milk will ruin the recipe.

• If you cannot find dark chocolate cocoa powder, you can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder.