Iced Mexican Chocolate

Our last cooking group was Mexican-themed. It's times like these a girl needs a back-up stomach...homemade tortillas, a bottomless bowl of guacamole, fresh salsa, simmered pinto beans...and that was just the starting point!

I took on the dessert portion. It's finally hot - okay, warm - in Portland so I didn't want something heavy. I made bizcochitos, a not-too-sweet, shortbread-like cookie. Mulling over what to pair them with led me to create this version of Mexican cocoa:

Iced Mexcian Chocolate
1 quart almond milk (or rice milk, or milk milk, if you like)
10 oz mexican chocolate, chopped*
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa**
1 tsp vanilla

Heat almond milk to just boiling. Take off burner and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit a few minutes and then whisk in the melted chocolate. Whisk in the two tablespoons of cocoa and vanilla. Serve chilled over ice.

* I used a mixture of Vanilla and Premium Mayordomo purchased when I was in Oaxaca. It's harder to come by (try here), so you could also use Ibarra, usually available at any supermarket.

** I used E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge, a very rich, robust chocoate. You may want to adjust the amount of cocoa, based on the type you  use.