Easy and ultra decadent collide in this Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mousse. Vegan, paleo, only 5 ingredients, and holiday dessert perfect!
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY NIELSEN-MASSEY.
I love a good mug of hot chocolate as much as the next flannel wearing, Spotify holiday playlist rocking, Christmas tree emoji in every message girl. (Yes, I wear flannel here and pretend it’s not 75 degrees outside…don’t judge.) But do you know what I love even more than hot chocolate mugs? Hot chocolate MOUSSE.
Here’s what makes mousse better than a mug: 1) less sipping, more spoon delving 2) zero sweating even if you live in non-chilly climates 3) the mini marshmallows won’t melt away into oblivion – I like my mini marshmallows where I can see them and in abundance. And 4) 10x times the decadence.
This recipe delivers on all the aforementioned pros. And only requires like four(ish) ingredients. And no refined sugar. And takes less than 5 minutes of actual effort time to make.
Are you even ready for this?
This is not just hot chocolate mousse but Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mousse. So infinitely more holly jolly, obvi. But don’t worry, no candy canes were crushed in the making of this mousse. We’ll leave the bottling of minty Christmas essence to the pros at Nielsen-Massey.
The extract aisle can be surprisingly overwhelming – baking vanilla or pure vanilla? Mint or peppermint? Extract or flavor? My mission is always to find the real deal pure and potent stuff, and this is it. Made with high quality mint oils and alcohol, that’s all. Peppermint extract is definitely one of those a little bit goes a loooooooong way kinda things, so be choosy and get the good stuff.
I mean it is the holidays and we are breaking out mini marshmallows for the occasion, so we want the peppermint-iest of mousses possible.
I’ve had some fun kitchen experimenting with their Pure Almond and Fairtrade Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extracts lately too, and I feel like my Christmas baking game = elevated because of it.
P.S. If anyone knows how to make an everlasting candle out of their almond extract, please get in touch. Asking for a friend (my nose).
Speaking of the mintiest of peppers (wait…?), for this recipe I used a full teaspoon of Nielsen-Massey Pure Peppermint Extract. The recipe makes 4 normal (or 3 treat yo self!) sized servings. I like the peppermint flavor to be front and center not lost amidst all the date-sweetened chocolate decadence, but if you are one of those people who’s a little meh on mint things you can tone it down to half a teaspoon. Personally I do not think it’s overly strong though.
The word LUSCIOUS was invented with just this silky, simple, choc-mint stuff in mind. Topped off with mini marshmallows plus a squiggley drizzle of melted chocolate and regular sipping hot chocolate has no chance.
Good luck keeping me and my spoon away.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mousse
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Easy and ultra decadent collide in this Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mousse. Vegan, paleo, only 5 ingredients, and holiday dessert perfect!
Ingredients
- 6oz (180g) unsweetened chocolate
- 200g pitted medjool dates ((approximately 1 cup packed))
- 1 3/4 cup (420g) non-dairy mik ((I used almond))
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Pure Peppermint Extract
- Optional: pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Roughly chop the unsweetened chocolate. Melt in the microwave or on the stovetop using a double boiler.
- In a high speed blender, combine the milk, dates, peppermint extract, and salt. Blend on high until very smooth.
- Slowly stream in the melted chocolate and continue blending until smooth.
- Transfer to cups or jars. Refrigerate overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
- Top with mini marshmallows (vegan or not) and a drizzle of melted chocolate. Enjoy!
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Thank you Nielsen-Massey for sponsoring this post!
Hi Natalie, what a wonderful idea to mix up Peppermint Extract and chocolate! I used Peppermint Extract my first time for the sony campaign last days. I love this stuff. xoxo Janine
It’s amazing, right!? SO potent and a nice little switch from just plain CHOCOLATE. Thanks for checking it out Janine <3
mmmm how good is this for the holdiays! I LOVE the combo of mint and chocolate it’s one of my favourites!
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One of my faves too, both in mint chip ice cream form or all the candy cane inspired christmas-y things 🙂 Thanks Jess and happy monday!
OH my heavens! Chocolate and peppermint is one of my absolute favorite holiday combos and in fact, I wonder how come some people don’t like the combo…they must be crazy! This looks like all kinds of decadence. It reminds me of your chocolate pots with some peppermint holiday magic and marshmallow heaven on top…so darn dreamy. I love Nielsen-Massey products as well, great extracts. I’ve used their Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla for years and it’s amazing. I’m with you on the abundance of marshmallows…somehow the mini ones don’t seem as guilty, even though we eat so many more of them, haha. But they sure do make it easier for cups of hot chocolate and pudding….much prettier to photograph than the big giant ones. I like to pop them in my mouth like popcorn, lol. This decadent post is seriously making my mouth water woman!
Mouthwatering? Well than chocolate drizzle marshmallow mission = successful! Oh those deceitful minis, when I realize I am eating them by the handful that’s when I know the logic of minis as smarter is actually totally flawed. But they felt more cute and holiday apropos. I actually tried to toast them in the oven first and then transfer…bad idea😜 It looked so gross and deflated and…stringy lol. I need a blow torch, although that would make campfire-free s’mores dangerously easy too😏 I loved seeing a little glimpse of your holiday dessert-ing today, and so it begins…🎄
Could you make this as a pie? I wonder if I could use one of your other raw crusts and maybe brûlée the marshmallows on top? Do you have a suggestion for a good crust for this idea. Thank you!!
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Yep, you could totally use it as a no-bake pie filling! I don’t really have a good no-bake crust recipe, I would probably suggest a date + nut or date + oat crust. If there is one of those you’d prefer, I can point you to a good recipe 🙂
Thank you! I just popped your pumpkin pie magic cookie bars in the oven and now I’m ready to get started on either this pie idea and or your rocky road. I have made your pumpkin sweet potato pie, so I can use that crust, but I had to cook that. Do you have a good raw crust you think would work well? I’m fine with nuts or oats (or both!)
Thank you for your amazing recipes!
D
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Oh yay!! I hope the magic pie bars come out perfect 🙂 I have made this no-bake crust before, and it works well: https://minimalistbaker.com/creamy-no-bake-pumpkin-pie/ It’s chewy, but almost any no-bake crust will be. You can skip the spice, and I like to add a pinch of salt too. You can also make the crust from that sweet potato pumpkin pie and just bake it by itself (about 15 minutes at 350F until golden) and then cool and add the filling and chill. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much. I made both the Magic Pie Bars and the Rocky Road fudge and they were outstanding. The problem is only that I can’t stop eating them 🙂
I checked out the recipe for the raw crust and understand to add salt and no spice. Thank you for that recommendation, and I also like the idea of making your crust from the sweet potato pumpkin pie, and baking it for 15 mins, as I plan to be making both of those pies for Christmas anyway! Thank you so much. I brag about your blog to anyone and everyone and on Instagram and Facebook, I always give you credit. Your peanut butter chocolate chip cookies were loved by a vegan chef I know as well as my very hard to please mother in law.
Thanks again!
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Haha a good problem to have, I am so happy both were a success! Yep, I think either of those crusts would be great, the raw one more chewy the baked one more like a classic pie crust. Aww thank you so much for sharing my blog and for the kind words–that means SO much to me <3 Happy holidays!
I made both pies for christmas with friends. I used the oatmeal crust and baked as you suggested. The chocolate peppermint pie was outrageously delicious. I would like to know how you keep the crust edges from burning on the sweet potato pumpkin pie. This time I covered the pie with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes so it wouldn’t get too dark. That worked really well. Has crust burning been a problem for you as you bake that pie for so long?
Thank you and have a wonderful New Year! You are an amazing recipe designer.
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Hi Debra! I am so happy the choc-peppermint pie turned out delicious, I have to try that sometime soon myself. Thanks for reporting back 🙂 Hmm so I haven’t had an issue with crust burning on that one, but oven temps and heat dispersion can vary quite a bit. A few ideas would be: 1) repositioning the oven rack to be further away from the heat source 2) reducing the bake time by 10 mins or so, I wouldn’t go much less than that or you risk it not cooling/setting right 3) just baking it at 350-375 for the full time as opposed to starting higher. You will have to experiment, but I hope that helps!
Will try with tonka bean extract
I have a quick question before I try making this. Do you need to boil the dates before putting in blender ? I usually do that so they are soft enough to blend well – but your recipe doesn’t call for that. Thank you!!
If you’re dates are particularly hard or dry it could be helpful, but I never do!