Champurrado (Mexican Hot Chocolate and Corn Drink) Recipe

Why It WorksUsing masa harina para tortillas (finely ground masa) allows for the smoothest atole.You have control of the thickness and sweetness of the atole by adjusting the amount of water and sugar.I remember, during the winter of 2003, when Ed Levine wrote a guide to the best hot chocolates in New York City. I clipped out the article and worked my way through his list, visiting just about every place he recommended. His picks were thick and rich, intensely chocolatey—more like melted bars of chocolate in a cup than heated milk flavored with cocoa powder, and I loved every single one of them. But the one I drank over and over was a Mexican-inspired rendition with chile and spice from Jacques Torres's chocolate shop in DUMBO. I worked down on the Brooklyn waterfront at the time, and after Ed's article came out, I'd hop on my bike almost daily around lunchtime and ride up Furman Street, which runs along the piers under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and is, during the winter months, a...