Onces Santafereños, recipe by María Florinda Coy Castilla

Delicious Colombian mid-afternoon snack, consisting of a cup of hot chocolate with baked goods and cheese.

Colombian Hot Chocolate (Chocolate Caliente)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of water • 4 cups of milk • 8 Colombian chocolate tablets (for example, Sol, Luker, or Corona), each tablet is roughly 1 oz. • 4 tablespoons of sugar • Cinnamon • Salt

Directions:

1. In a pot/sauce pan, heat equal portions of water and milk just below the simmering point.
2. Next, add one tablet of chocolate for each cup of liquid.
3. Once the chocolate has melted, add sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. The amount of sugar varies according to personal preference.
4. Bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, whisk vigorously to create foam on the top.

Traditionally, this is made using a pot called a chocolatera and mixed with a molinillo, which is a wooden stirrer used by placing the handle between the palms and moving the palms back and forth in a rubbing motion.

Serve warm, with baked goods, such as arepas or pan de yuca, and cheese. This is perfect for a quick and enjoyable snack to share with friends.

Eric Cesar Morales is a graduate student in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, Bloomington. His areas of research include Latino folk belief and foodways and Tahitian dance.