Totally Elevate Hot Chocolate With Frozen Cool Whip

On any cold, rainy, or snowy day, you can curl up on the couch by the fireplace all by your lonesome with a warm blanket, a good book, and a nice cup of hot chocolate. However, during the holidays, you're likely to have some folks over to join you during those blustery days, which means that you might want to make some cups of hot chocolate that are festive and fun for your holiday guests. Of course, you can use many tasty ingredients to make your hot chocolate even richer, but how about using a delicious ingredient to dress up your hot chocolate for a merry presentation?

If you were thinking of holiday-themed mug sleeves to outfit the cups for your hot chocolate, that's a great guess, but the idea here is to make the inside of the cups look a little more jolly — and much more welcoming. You can do this by simply using cookie cutters to fashion frozen Cool Whip into fun holiday figures that will float like marshmallows in your drinks. Now you've got an enriching ingredient in your hot cocoa that's also packing some fun holiday spirit. Want to try your hand at making these cute little floaters? Thankfully, the process is simple and easy.

All you need to make your floaters are Cool Whip, a sleek spatula, a baking sheet, aluminum foil, cookie cutters, and your freezer. Get holiday-themed cookie cutters that evoke the spirit of the holidays with their shapes such as a snowflake, snowman, stocking, or candy cane. You should also clear out some room in your freezer so all of your floaters can fit when it's time for you to store them (more on that later). It's also best to make your floaters the night before your holiday guests arrive. Now that you're prepared, you can start making your Cool Whip floaters.

First, let your Cool Whip defrost some in your refrigerator. Once the whipped cream has softened a bit, wrap your baking sheet with foil. Fill the sheet with a smooth and dense layer of Cool Whip. Place your fun holiday-themed cookie cutters in the whipped cream, then transfer the sheet into your freezer to let them harden. When your holiday guests arrive and request some hot cups of cocoa, whip up some steaming hot chocolate before pulling that sheet with your floaters out of your freezer. Use your spatula to carefully pare away the cutters from the shapes, then drop the shapes into your cups of hot chocolate. Once you hand your festive cups of hot cocoa to your guests, let them know you've also got some delicious flavorings to drop in their drinks should they like to amp up the yuletide cheer.

The options are plentiful when it comes to additions to your hot chocolate, so take your pick! No need to stick with the classics here, so find your favorite flavors to add in to your already elevated hot cocoa. In keeping with the holiday spirit, hand out some candy canes to dip in those hot chocolates. The mintiness of the canes leaves a strong aftertaste that your guests can accentuate with sips of their rich hot chocolate. Or, keep the holiday theme going by giving your hot chocolate a spicy kick of gingerbread. Just throw in some ginger, cinnamon, and allspice to achieve this sharp, flavorful contrast to the smooth milk chocolate. You can also add hazelnut flavor to your hot chocolate by mixing in some Nutella. If Nutella isn't your style, heat up your cocoa with the hot, candied taste of pumpkin spice.

If you're having your usual morning joe the day your guests are coming over, save a little for later to pour into those hot chocolates for some holiday evening mochas. It'll strike the perfect balance between bitter and sweet. Alternatively, when enjoying hot chocolate with friends instead of your usual wine, sprinkle in some vanilla extract, which contains a minute amount of alcohol, or go for the real thing by adding a splash of peppermint vodka to your mug. Just take your time to savor your hot chocolate, and every time you have a sip, look at those frozen Cool Whip floaters to remind you of the holiday fun.