HGTV's 'Fixer to Fabulous' Stars Love Ina Garten's Hot Chocolate
Jenny and Dave Marrs, hosts of HGTV's renovation show Fixer to Fabulous, spend the holidays at their charming farmhouse in Bentonville, Arkansas, whipping up batches of Grandma Marrs' peanut butter cookies and Ina Garten's hot chocolate.
Mike Davello
HGTV hosts Dave and Jenny Marrs love setting up a hot chocolate bar piled with toppings and add-ins for their children during the holiday season.
Jenny and Dave Marrs, hosts of HGTV renovation show Fixer to Fabulous, spend much of the year transforming historic houses around their hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. During the holiday season, the couple likes to relax in their charming, beautifully decorated farmhouse, baking cookies and sipping on hot chocolate with their five children.
An Heirloom Cookie Recipe From Grandma
Their go-to cookie is a family recipe — a four-ingredient peanut butter cookie from Grandma Marrs’ recipe box.
Mike Davello
Dave Marrs' grew up baking with his grandmother, and now he and Jenny are passing the tradition and recipes down to their children.
Their go-to cookie is a family recipe — a four-ingredient peanut butter cookie from Grandma Marrs’ recipe box. To make it, they combine one cup of peanut butter, one cup of sugar, one egg and one teaspoon of vanilla extract, rolling balls of the dough in two coats of sugar before baking at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. It yields 12 to 16 cookies, but Jenny and Dave always double the batch. It's a recipe easy for kids to make, too. In fact, when Jenny was pregnant, Dave and their twins would whip up batches of the cookies almost daily.
Mike Davello
Dave Marrs' grandmother taught him to use a cup to push the cookie dough into picture-perfect circles, then dip the cup back into the sugar to add another layer to the dough before baking.
Ina's Foolproof Hot Chocolate Recipe
And it’s just not the holidays without hot chocolate: Dave and Jenny like to set up a topping station with marshmallows, whipped cream and candy canes to welcome the kids back after spending the day playing outside.
This year, they tried a hot chocolate recipe from a familiar Food Network face: author and chef Ina Garten.
Of course, Ina’s hot chocolate has a back story: In a Season 3 episode of Barefoot Contessa, she made it as a treat for Jeffery (of course!) when he returned home late after a long work trip. (She also made him breakfast the next day with homemade brioche and strawberry jam.)
The rich winter warmer is made with milk and half-and-half, plus two types of chocolate — milk and semisweet. She also adds a teaspoon of instant espresso powder because it “always gives chocolate a real depth of flavor,” Ina says. You can follow her lead and use decaf if it’s late at night or if you or your loved ones are watching their caffeine intake. After simmering on low heat comes Ina's final touch: Use an immersion blender to whip the hot chocolate, giving it that artisan coffee shop consistency.
Mike Davello
Half-and-half and whole milk make Ina's hot chocolate rich and velvety.
Making homemade hot chocolate around the holidays is a festive, feel-good activity with results so sweet and delicious, don’t be surprised if you find yourself making it all winter long.
“The truth is you can probably buy the [hot chocolate] powder and make it really easily, but nothing tastes as good as the real thing,” Ina says.
How to Watch Ina and the Marrs
Stream episodes of Barefoot Contessa on Max and discovery+. For even more Ina, stream Be My Guest With Ina Garten and Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics on Max and discovery+. Dave and Jenny Marrs are back with an all-new season of Fixer to Fabulous airing on HGTV January 8 at 8|7c. Catch up on all five seasons before the premiere on Max and discovery+. See more photos of Dave and Jenny Marrs' farmhouse decorated for the holidays below, and check out the full tour on HGTV.com.
Mike Davello
The renovated home is the heart of its surrounding property, which the Marrs filled with dogs, sheep, kittens, cows, alpacas, a donkey and a horse.
Mike Davello
"We got rid of the island and peninsula in favor of a big table because we have a big family," says Dave, who built the table years ago. "This is where life happens."
Mike Davello
Grandma Marrs' handwritten peanut butter cookie recipe is framed and on display in Dave and Jenny's kitchen.
