When it's cold out, sip something sweet

By J.M. HIRSCH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A day on the slopes -- or even just an hour of shoveling the driveway -- calls for a rich, hot drink to help return feeling to frozen digits.
For those of age, consider hot buttered rum. This delicately spiced -- but aggressively spiked -- drink is deceptively smooth and sweet, so it's best left until after the hills have been conquered.
To adapt the recipe for a slow cooker (and longer simmering time), increase the cider, water and rum by 1 cup each, and substitute several cinnamon sticks for the ground cinnamon. Keep the slow cooker on the lowest setting.
And for the younger set, try hot cherry chocolate from Fred Thompson's recent cookbook, "Hot Chocolate" (Harvard Common Press, 2006, 12.95). This is everything chocolate-covered cherries should be.
HOT BUTTERED RUM
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, plus extra for garnish
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups apple cider
2 cups water
2 cups rum
Whipped cream
In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, salt, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, apple cider and water. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Ladle the drink into mugs, then top each with whipped cream and a pinch of nutmeg.
Makes 6 servings.
HOT CHERRY CHOCOLATE
6 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
11/2 cups chocolate syrup
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry syrup
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
4 red maraschino cherries with stems
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, 1 cup of the cream, the chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup of the cherry syrup. Cook, stirring, until the mixture has bubbles around the edge of the pan. Do not boil. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Use an electric mixer to beat the remaining cream until foamy. While beating, gradually add the powdered sugar and remaining cherry syrup. Beat until soft peaks form.
Ladle the hot chocolate into mugs. Spoon whipped cream over each and top with a cherry.
Makes 4 servings.
(Recipe from Fred Thompson's "Hot Chocolate," Harvard Common Press, 2006, 12.95)
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