The 2019 holiday season was definitely the season of coquito. It was also the year of experimenting with different flavors of coquito. After last month’s Pumpkin Spice Coquito was such a hit, I decided to keep trying new things. I had been meaning to try to make chocolate coquito for a while, but I kept putting it off. This was finally the year that it happened.
Using bittersweet chocolate for the chocolate coquito ensures that you add a good amount of chocolate flavor without adding too much additional sweetness. The cream of coconut and the condensed milk are already plenty sweet. It tastes almost like a spiked chocolate milk with a hint of coconut and spices!
The recipe makes enough chocolate coquito to fill about 6 12oz bottles for gifting, or 1 64oz bottle with a little extra to stash for yourself. If you like it stronger, you can add more rum until it’s your desired potency. Just remember that it intensifies as it sits.
Chocolate Coquito
Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12oz can evaporated milk
- 1 13.5oz can coconut milk
- 1 14oz can cream of coconut (I use Coco Lopez)
- 6oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 cups Puerto Rican rum (I used dark rum)
Directions
Place the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the evaporated milk and the cinnamon stick until the milk just starts to simmer. Remove the cinnamon stick and pour the milk over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
Combine the remaining ingredients with the chocolate mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust spices as needed. Pour into a large bottle (or multiple smaller bottles) and refrigerate. Serve cold.
Shake well before serving.