Hot chocolate … how romantic

Sit. Sip. Savor. This Valentine’s Day, the love is in the cup.

Thought of getting your honey the proverbial box of chocolates? How mundane. Why not stir up some lovin’ with a hot cup of cocoa? You know, that stuff your mom used to make to take the chill off your frozen nose?

Hot chocolate is, well, hot. Again. In our everything-old-is-new-again world, hot chocolate is the retro redo of the recession. For less than a box of Russell Stover’s, you and your sweetheart can sip your way to romance.

But take heart, so to speak: There’s a world of history in that cup of cocoa.

Europeans didn’t come across silky-sweet nougats and chews straight from Willy Wonka when they discovered chocolate in the New World. What they discovered was hot chocolate —- a drink considered so potent by the Aztecs that it was reserved for royalty and religious ceremonies. (Montezuma purportedly used it as an aphrodisiac and as, ahem, an old-world Viagra.)

The first people most likely to have cultivated the cacao tree were the Olmecs, from the Southern coast of Mexico, according to food writer Harold McGee. From there it spread to Mayan and Aztec cultures; the latter roasted the beans and ground them for use in hot chocolate. They made a paste of the roasted beans, then added spices and hot water.

Numerous accounts of the drinking of cacahuatl (the Nahuatl, or Aztec, word for hot chocolate) abound: foaming broths mixed with human blood, golden cups filled with froth and spices such as vanilla (another New World discovery), wild honey and red achiote.

The Spanish took the drink back to Spain, and for nearly 200 years did little to expand on it, other than add sugar, cinnamon, chiles, saffron and orange. By then they had adopted the Native American custom of making a paste of the roasted beans and cocoa butter, then drying it on leaves to make tablets. Native Americans used the tablets by adding hot water or atole (a kind of hot gunk made of maize) —- the first cocoa mix, so to speak.

By the mid-1600s, hot chocolate had spread from Spain to France and England, where new, innovative “coffeehouses” were selling the drink to droves, especially when someone —- and no one really knows who —- decided to start making it with hot milk instead of water.

Can you imagine that first taste of hot, foaming froth? The first sip, so hot it almost burns your lips, passing the bittersweetness over your palate until it moves to your belly, where it warms and satisfies like no other drink on earth. No wonder the Aztec and Mayan cultures prized it so much.

Modern versions of hot chocolate stem directly from these early renditions, and coffeehouses from Starbucks to local spots such as the Chocolate Bar in Decatur serve it in style —- from mint mocha madness to chile-laced chocolate chai. But it’s basically two recipes from which all this derives: hot cocoa, made from cocoa powder, sugar, milk (or cream) and flavorings; or hot chocolate, made with ganache (a mixture of chocolate, hot cream and butter). The former smacks of memories in front of the fireplace, cup in hand, with marshmallows melting to make a hot foam. The latter is a rich indulgence perfect for adding spices such as vanilla, saffron and chiles.

About those marshmallows —- they’re even better when you make your own, and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to whip them up, literally.

It might be too late to order those flowers. But a cup of hot chocolate is right on time.

Spanish Hot Chocolate

4 to 6 servings

Hands on: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

This drink is luscious, decadent and laced with spices inspired by Latin America and Spain: cinnamon, saffron, vanilla and Anaheim peppers. Made with ganache (a mixture of heavy cream, chocolate and butter), you can make it double decadent by adding a dollop of chantilly cream or a homemade marshmallow.

8 ounces heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1 stick cinnamon

Zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean (split lengthwise, scrape the pulp into the mixture and remove the bean)

1 Anaheim chile, cut in half lengthwise with seeds removed (serrano can be substituted, if desired)

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream on high heat with the saffron, cinnamon, orange zest, vanilla bean and pepper without stirring until it comes to a scald. Remove from the heat and strain. Add the chocolate and return to low heat, whisking vigorously until smooth. Whisk in the butter.

Per serving (based on 4 6-ounce servings): 529 calories (percent of calories from fat, 82), 7 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams fiber, 55 grams fat (33 grams saturated), 85 milligrams cholesterol, 31 milligrams sodium.

Classic Hot Cocoa

4 servings

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Looking for the classic cup that started it all? Here it is: rich, creamy and topped with homemade marshmallows.

3 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean (optional; if using a bean, split the bean in half lengthwise and add it to the liquid. Then scrape the pulp into the mixture and remove the bean.)

In a medium saucepan on high heat, bring the milk to a boil. Make a slurry in a large bowl of the half-and-half, cocoa powder and granulated sugar, creating a paste until the mixture is lump-free. Remove the milk from the heat and pour into the paste slowly, whisking constantly. When combined completely, add the vanilla. Return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat to keep warm .

Per serving: 332 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 9 grams protein, 53 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 40 milligrams cholesterol, 119 milligrams sodium.

Homemade Marshmallows

16 to 20 marshmallows

Hands on: 20 minutes

Total time: 3 hours, 20 minutes

Fluffy and tinted light pink for Valentine’s Day, homemade marshmallows are the easiest of indulgences —- just a few turns of the whisk and voila —- dreamy, puffy jewels cut into hearts for the special day.

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (other flavorings, such as mint or lemon)

1/4 teaspoon pink food coloring (optional)

Confectioners’ sugar for cutting

Prepare a 9-by-9-inch pan by lining it with oiled plastic wrap (an oiled silicon pan may be used without wrap).

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Allow the mixture to bloom for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a rolling boil and continue boiling for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour the boiling syrup into the gelatin mixture to dissolve, beating with a whip at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and food coloring.

Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper and scrape the marshmallow mixture into the pan. Spread evenly with another piece of oiled plastic wrap, pressing mixture into the pan.

Let mixture sit for 3 hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into hearts or other equal pieces. Cookie cutters dredged with confectioners’ sugar work, or scissors. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Per marshmallow (based on 16): 148 calories (no calories from fat), trace protein, 38 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat (no saturated), no cholesterol, 57 milligrams sodium.