Hot Chocolate Mix
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This homemade hot chocolate mix recipe is so delicious. It makes mugs of rich and creamy chocolaty goodness. Test tasters say it’s 100% better than store-bought hot cocoa mix. Prep this easy recipe in less than 5 minutes.
🧑🏼🍳 Why This Recipe’s a Keeper
- Quick Easy Recipe: After gathering the simple ingredients together, just measure them out and mix them in a bowl. That’s it. It’s the perfect recipe to make with children and teens.
- Made with Basic Pantry Items: All you need for this budget-conscious recipe are basic pantry staples. No running to the store when you want a delicious mug of hot cocoa. Just make the mix at home.
- Perfect for Gift-Giving: This is an easy recipe to make in bulk. Add the powdered mix to mason jars. Decorate each rim with a big red bow and a gift tag with instructions for making the hot chocolate in a mug. If desired, create small gift baskets with the hot cocoa mix, a festive holiday mug, and a simple Christmas ornament.
🛒 Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar: Perfectly sweetens the mix and dissolves smoothly into warm milk. I do not recommend substituting granulated sugar.
- Dried Whole Milk: Dried/powdered milk helps increase the richness and creamy flavor. It’s what helps to delivers a fabulous mouthfeel. If desired, you can use non-fat dried milk instead.
- Dutch-Process Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Provides a rich dark color to the cocoa mix. Because it’s an alkalized cocoa powder, not a natural cocoa powder, it has reduced bitterness and a mild smooth flavor for a well-balanced taste. It also dissolves better in liquids (like hot milk or water) compared to natural cocoa.
- Fine Sea Salt: Helps balance the flavors of the other ingredients while enhancing the flavor of chocolate.
- Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar: Adds even more chocolate to the hot cocoa mix recipe. It makes the mixture extra chocolatey. You can use a semi-sweet premium chocolate baking bar, or white chocolate – whatever type or brand you have on hand.
- Vanilla Powder (optional): Enhances the flavor of chocolate while adding a subtle vanilla flavor and yummy aroma.
- Dehydrated Marshmallow Bits (optional): Adding mini marshmallow bits is nostalgic. It reminds me of childhood hot cocoa mixes.
📖 Recipe Steps
- Add all ingredients (except for mini marshmallow bits) to a medium bowl.
- With a spoon or whisk, mix to combine.
- Transfer hot chocolate mix to a mason jar.
- If desired, add marshmallow bits on top. Or wrap them in plastic wrap to create a little packet, and place that on top instead. Make sure to to seal the jar tightly with a lid.
How to Make a Mug of Hot Chocolate
- Add 3 tablespoons hot cocoa mix to a mug. Pour 1 cup hot milk or water over the top.
- Stir well until the hot chocolate mix is fully dissolved. During the Christmas season, you can use peppermint sticks for stirring.
- If desired, top the beverage with mini marshmallow bits and/or whipped cream. For a festive presentation and taste, garnish with shaved chocolate or chocolate jimmies.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST hot chocolate mix, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
It’s cocoa that’s been treated with an alkalizing agent to reduce the sharp flavor and acidity of natural cocoa powder. It has a beautiful dark color that looks delicious. Dutch-process cocoa is prized for its intense chocolaty flavor – more chocolaty than natural unsweetened cocoa.
It’s a blend of natural and Dutched cocoas. Dark in color with a reddish hue, it has a deep chocolaty flavor. Easy to find at most large grocery stores, it can be used in recipes calling for Dutch-process cocoa.
Find mini marshmallow bits at Walmart in their special cake, baking and pastry supplies aisle. Or look for them (the Sweet Tooth Fairy brand) at Michaels. You can also order them online through Amazon.
This depends on the expiration dates of all ingredients used. If they all have freshness dates of several months, then your hot chocolate mix can also last for several months when stored inside an airtight container and kept in a cool dark pantry.
Although there’s powdered milk in hot cocoa mix, for a rich creamy mouthfeel – make your hot chocolate with dairy milk (or almond milk). For a thinner less creamy beverage, use hot water instead.
☕️ More Hot Chocolate Recipes
If you love hot cocoa and DIY giftable recipes, you’ll love these easy hot chocolate bomb recipes. They’re ideal gifts for neighbors and co-workers.
- Christmas Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Andes Mint Hot Cocoa Bombs
- Peppermint Hot Cocoa Bombs
- Halloween Hot Cocoa Bombs
Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers rated this the BEST tasting hot cocoa mix compared to 2 famous store-bought brands. They loved the rich chocolaty flavor with a hint of vanilla and luscious creamy mouthfeel.
If you agree this is a fabulous recipe, better than store-bought, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with a friend on Facebook. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.
Hot Chocolate Mix
- Total Time: 5 Minutes
- Yield: 20 servings 1x
Description
This delicious hot chocolate mix is rich, creamy and extra chocolaty. It’s 100% better than store-bought. To enjoy, add a few scoops of the mix to a mug. Pour hot milk (or hot water) over the top and stir well.
Ingredients
DIY Hot Cocoa Mix
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup dried whole milk (or nonfat)
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder (or Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 4–ounce Ghirardelli premium chocolate baking bar, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (optional)
- 1/3 cup dehydrated marshmallow bits (optional)
For Making Hot Chocolate (optional)
- Peppermint sticks, for stirring
- Mini marshmallows
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate shavings (from a premium chocolate baking bar) or chocolate jimmies (sprinkles)
Instructions
DIY Hot Chocolate Mix
- Add all ingredients (except for marshmallow bits) to a medium bowl. Mix to combine. Do a taste test. If you’d like to sweeten the mix a bit more, add an additional 1/4 cup powdered sugar.
- Transfer the hot chocolate mix to a mason jar.
- If desired, add marshmallow bits on top. Or wrap them in plastic wrap to create a little packet, and place that on top instead. Seal the jar tightly with a lid.
How to Make Hot Chocolate
- Add 3 tablespoons hot cocoa mix to a mug. Pour 1 cup hot milk (for the best creamy flavor with a delicious mouthfeel), or hot water over the top.
- Stir well until the hot chocolate mix is fully dissolved. During the Christmas season, you can use peppermint sticks for stirring.
- If desired, top the beverage with mini marshmallow bits and/or whipped cream. For a festive presentation and taste, garnish the top with shaved chocolate or chocolate sprinkles.
Notes
How long does DIY hot cocoa mix last? This depends on the expiration dates of all ingredients used. If they all have freshness dates of several months, then your hot chocolate mix can also last for several months when stored inside an airtight container and kept in a cool dark pantry.
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 0 Minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Stirring
- Cuisine: American
DIY Hot Chocolate Mix 👉🏻 Join the Convo
Will you be prepping this recipe for holiday gifting? Will you be presenting the hot cocoa mix in mason jars or cellophane bags? Will you include the recipe on the gift tag? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
