At the Cottage by the Mountains, snow isn’t unusual. It’s a pretty constant companion through January and February. Snow is common off and on from Halloween to Mother’s Day.
But snow this deep is pretty rare. (A shot of the path to the chicken coop.)
All this snow makes the Damsel crave a cup of hot chocolate–one of her weaknesses. Some whipped cream on top makes it even more special. But sometimes, that’s not so easy. Maybe there’s no spray cream in the house. (There usually is no spray cream in the house.) Cream freezes well, but at times it’s hard to wait until the cream thaws to indulge that hot chocolate yearning. By the time it’s whipped, life has passed us by. And who wants to create all those dishes for a little plop of whipped cream?
When a recipe calls for heavy or whipped cream, the Damsel often has some left. It’s as easy as kindergarten to make this leftover cream into hot chocolate dollops that you can freeze–and then access instantly the next time a cup of hot chocolate comes into your life.
If it’s not already whipped, whip the cream until it’s nice and firm–to the point where it holds its shape. Add sweetening and vanilla if you’re that kind of person. Now spread a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment or wax paper.
Make dollops of whipped cream on the cookie sheet . . . you can use a decorating gun if you want, like this, or just use a spoon. Set this cookie sheet carefully in the freezer so it stays level. In an hour or so the dollops should be frozen.
Load these (quickly) into a freezer bag and keep in the most convenient, easy-to-grab place in your freezer. Then you know what to do. Put on or two of these into a cup of steaming hot chocolate and there you go.
The Damsel loves this for both reasons. 1. Cream in hot chocolate, heaven. 2. Using up leftover cream instead of letting it languish in the back of the fridge, win.
