Mint Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 6 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed (reseve 8 leaves for garnish)
• 3 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 tbsp Cool Whip topping

Makes 8 Servings

1. Pour milk into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, about 5 minutes; cover and set aside. (Or warm milk in microwave to take chill off—milk should be warmed; not cooked.)
2. In another small saucepan, combine water, sugar and mint leaves; bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour mint syrup through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer into a larger saucepan.
3. Add chocolate to mint syrup and reduce heat to very low; melt chocolate, stirring constantly, about 1 to 2 minutes. (Do not allow chocolate to stick to bottom of pan or overcook.) When chocolate has just melted, add 1/3 cup of warmed milk and stir to combine, being careful that chocolate does not stick to bottom of pot. When chocolate and milk are completely combined, add remaining milk to pan; increase heat to medium-low and warm through. Pour into serving cups and top each serving with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of whipped cream; garnish with mint.
   

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 pts (3/4 cup per serving)

Note: This recipe appears on www.weightwatchers.com. Nothing beats a cup of steaming hot cocoa when temperatures start to dip. This version is spiked with fresh mint syrup and then topped with whipped cream. Store any unused hot chocolate in the refrigerator once it has cooled (or halve the recipe so you have less leftovers). Reheat and top with whipped cream and mint before serving. The whip cream is optional but the mint chocolate is delicous on its own.