Mexican Chile-Spiced Corn Atole

About This Recipe

Atole is a traditional Mexican hot drink made from masa harina (corn flour) simmered with milk or water until thick and smooth, sweetened and spiced with cinnamon -- a common breakfast or evening drink, especially popular around the winter holidays and Day of the Dead. This version adds a small pinch of ground chile to the classic cinnamon spicing, a lesser-known but genuine regional variation found in some central Mexican households that plays sweet against a whisper of heat. The technique for good atole is whisking the masa harina into cold liquid first to form a smooth slurry before adding it to the hot pot -- adding dry masa directly to hot milk causes lumps that are nearly impossible to whisk out. It then needs to simmer, stirring frequently, until it thickens to the consistency of a light gravy, not a thin drink. Served warm in mugs, often alongside tamales at holiday gatherings, atole is one of Mexico's oldest documented beverages, predating the arrival of dairy and sugar with pre-Hispanic versions made purely from corn and water.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 0.5 cupmasa harina
• 1 cupcold water
• 3 cupswhole milk
• 0.5 cuppiloncillo or brown sugar
• 1cinnamon stick
• 0.25 tspground ancho chile(or mild chile powder)
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1 pinchsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the masa slurry

   Whisk masa harina into cold water until completely smooth with no lumps.

2. 2

   Warm the milk

   In a saucepan, combine milk, piloncillo, cinnamon stick, and salt. Heat over medium, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

3. 3

   Add the masa slurry

   Whisk the masa slurry into the warm milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.

4. 4

   Simmer and thicken

   Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, 12-15 minutes until thickened to a light gravy consistency.

5. 5

   Add the chile and vanilla

   Stir in ground chile and vanilla extract. Simmer 2 more minutes.

6. 6

   Serve

   Remove the cinnamon stick. Ladle into mugs and serve hot.

Variations

• •

  Champurrado is a chocolate version, made by melting Mexican chocolate into the atole along with the masa.

• •

  Use fresh corn masa instead of masa harina for a more traditional, slightly grainier texture.

• •

  Skip the chile for a classic, simply spiced cinnamon atole.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days; atole thickens further when chilled. Reheat gently on the stovetop, whisking in a splash of milk to loosen it back to drinking consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions