Forget Marshmallows — The Best Topping For Hot Chocolate Comes In A Jar

When it's miserably cold outside, it takes a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm (and hopefully your radiator, too). Hot chocolate is traditionally topped with marshmallows, at least in the United States, adding sweet, sugary flavors and a creamy texture. Still, you have to wait for them to melt first before you see any benefit, and your hot chocolate will quickly be cooling down. There are plenty of unique ways to make hot chocolate even better, like this simple substitution: Instead of whole marshmallows, use marshmallow fluff.

Sometimes called marshmallow creme (the "fluff" name is connected to the brand Marshmallow Fluff), this sugary spread tastes just like marshmallows but is smooth, creamy, and spoonable as opposed to a firm, cylindrical, standard-issue marshmallow. Marshmallow fluff is most famously used in the fluffernutter sandwich alongside peanut butter, but you can spread the fluff atop your hot chocolate too. You'll get the same taste as regular marshmallows, but you can immediately blend the flavors instead of drinking around the marshmallows first. It'll look sort of like whipped cream, but you can also torch the fluff to roast it a little, like a marshmallow over a campfire.

There's one other reason you might go for a jar of marshmallow fluff instead of the classic confections: the ingredients. It typically only takes three ingredients to make marshmallows: sugar, water, and gelatin, the latter of which is made from the collagen extracted from animal tissues. If you're trying to avoid eating animals, then a hot chocolate with regular marshmallows may be more meaty than folks often realize. Marshmallow creme, while not fully vegan, is most likely made without gelatin (though you should still always check the ingredients list to be sure). Marshmallow creme includes egg whites instead, along with sugar and corn syrup.

It's easy enough to find marshmallow fluff in U.S. grocery stores, but for homemade hot chocolate, you can also make this creamy topping yourself. Patience is a virtue when making homemade marshmallow fluff – it's a similar process to making a meringue, and it's certainly less complicated than making homemade marshmallows. You'll essentially be slowly incorporating boiling sugar syrup into beaten egg whites. The whole process should take about half an hour, but you can serve it right away if you start preparing the hot chocolate during that time. Side effects may include a marshmallow creme mustache after your first sip.