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Who doesn't love hot chocolate? When the colder seasons hit, the best way to get cozy at home is to wrap yourself in a big blanket in front of the fireplace and have a steaming mug in your hands. Sweet, creamy, rich, and oh-so-chocolatey, few things are as delicious as your favorite hot cocoa recipe. But what if we told you there's an easy hack you can try (right now!) to make your drink taste even better?

A Pinch of Goodness

We won't keep you waiting for the secret: it's a pinch of salt. Thankfully, it's an ingredient most of us have in our cupboards and pantries, so if you have a fresh mug of cocoa fixed up already, all you need to do is add a sprinkle of table salt to kick up the flavor more.

This hack might not surprise you, either. In fact, you might already know to add salt into your drink regularly, just as you may know to put a bit of it on certain fruits, like watermelon or pineapple, to make them taste sweeter and—in the latter—less acidic. If you're skeptical, however, don't be: you can even test it in a separate cup to see whether or not you'll like it, and how much you might need to add in order to taste a difference.

Why It Works

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You've probably heard of this method before in other recipes, but one thing might still leave you stumped: why does adding a pinch of salt to desserts work? Well, it's because salt helps to increase your body's ability to taste sweetness, and therefore enhances that flavor. In the case of cocoa, a sprinkle of salt helps to kick up the sweetness of your drink while dialing back the bitterness—especially if you use dark chocolate or add other ingredients, like coffee, into your mug.

Even then, you don't need to rely only on salt to make your hot chocolate taste delicious. There are plenty of other ways you can elevate your drink, and depending on what ingredients you have at home, you can completely transform your hot cocoa into one that you and your friends and family will keep coming back for more.

Other Hacks to Try 

So, what else can you do to level up your cup? Well, if salt isn't interesting enough for you, you can also add spices, butter, vanilla extract, Nutella, cinnamon, or honestly anything you have lying in your pantry. If you're more daring, you can even experiment with different, opposing flavors, like coffee, ginger, or your favorite choice of liquor.

Here are some other ingredients that can give your cup some zing:

• Orange zest
• Chili (really!)
• Caramel
• Biscoff Cookie Spread
• Pumpkin spice
• Peppermint
• Crushed candy canes
• Chai tea

The great thing about hot cocoa is that it takes a lot to mess it up; you have a tasty base already, so all you have to do is build up those existing flavors even more!