There is a crazy delicious new trend in milkshakes. It involves adding a slice of pie to the blender along with the milk and ice cream.

That's right - a whole slice of pie.

Which sounds simply too delicious for its own good. I wanted it, except that the winter holidays aren't exactly milkshake season. So I started playing winter-friendly ways to borrow this idea of blending baked goods and sweet drinks.

Hot chocolate was the natural choice. But pie just didn't seem right. Doughnuts, however, seemed perfect. Chocolate doughnuts to be precise.

The process was simple. The results were spectacular. The hot chocolate was richly chocolaty, but retained a distinctly doughnut flavor. The hot chocolate also was wonderfully thick, thanks to the thickening properties of the flour in the doughnut. If you prefer a thinner hot chocolate, follow the recipe as directed, then thin with additional milk at the end.

It also is important to use a cake-style doughnut (not yeast-raised), such as a chocolate or old fashioned. I used glazed or sugar-coated doughnuts with great results.

And for a wonderful variation, make the recipe as directed, then thin it with a bit of strong hot coffee. After all, coffee and doughnuts pair so well.

Chocolate doughnut hot chocolate

Start to finish: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

2 cups whole milk

1 glazed or sugar coated chocolate doughnut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Pinch salt

In a blender, combine the milk and doughnut. Puree until very smooth. This could take a minute or longer.

Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan. Whisking constantly, heat over medium until it thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chocolate chips and salt, whisking until the chocolate has melted and the cocoa is smooth. Serve immediately.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 240 calories; 120 calories from fat (48 percent of total calories); 13 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 27 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 160 mg sodium.

Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook "High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking." Follow him to great eats on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch or email him at jhirsch@ap.org.