
Hot chocolate seems to be the staple for cold weather and the holiday season. There’s something about a hot mug full of rich, chocolately goodness that propels you instantly back to your childhood. When hours of playing in the snow had ended, you’d wander into the house with rosy cheeks and a frosty little nose for a steaming mug of liquid gold – hot chocolate with marshmallows. If you were lucky, you might even find a gingersnap or two. I don’t know about you, but sipping hot chocolate on a snowy evening definitely instigates a flashback to those times and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
I remember sledding for hours on our hometown hill and looking forward to warming up fireside with a hot mug in hands brimming with mini marshmallows that I tried to strategically fish out with every sip. I’d like to say that attempting to do that is also a distant memory, but who am I kidding, I totally still do that - minus the whole sledding thing.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve been taking a lot of time to concentrate on homemade, edible gifts that are way better than anything you’d buy in a store. This Hot Cocoa Mix In A Jar is no exception. Although it’s a delicious homemade gift on its own - I couldn’t help whipping up a batch of homemade Vanilla Marshmallows to include for my nearest and dearest.
Making a rich decadent cocoa mix from scratch is almost as easy as ripping the top off of the Swiss-Miss packet and trust me, it’s much tastier! With a few simple ingredients including Dutch-process cocoa, confectioners’ sugar and powdered milk, it takes virtually no time to mix up batch.
Presented in a beautiful shaped glass jar and fancied up with a homemade tag and festive red and white baker’s twine, it’ll look as though you spent hours making a unique and fabulous gift. And of course the addition of the Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows makes it just a little sweeter! No one needs to know you churned out holiday gifts for the entire family in just a few hours, right?
Tag Info
- The jar seen in the photos is a Weck 3/4 Liter Mold Jar.
If you have a Silhouette Machine and are interested in the shapes and font I used, here is the info:
- Square Tag (Rudolph Reindeer Card) by Loni Stevens cut on light blue card stock with a 4.0 inch width (will be folded in half).
- Mittens (Cocoa, Mittens, and Hat) by KI Memorie cut on red card stock with a 1.0 inch width
- Font used is called Last Words
- Baker’s Twine was purchased from Amazon
Hot Cocoa Mix
Yield: 5 1/2 cups dry mix
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarchDirections:
To Make The Mix
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk until evenly incorporated.
2. Pour hot cocoa mix into an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place.
To Make Hot Cocoa
Fill a mug half full with the hot cocoa mix and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container. This also works great with warm milk.
Notes:
Alton Brown recommends adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix; however, I omitted this ingredient.
Source: My Baking Addiction slightly adapted from Alton Brown
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{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
I adore this. The tag is perfect, and the Weck Jars are my favorite. I’m so obsessed. The circular marshmallows are just adorable, too.
Looks so cute! I love homemade gifts…
These look so cute. I bought some Weck jars finally and I love them. Thanks for the great ideas.
Delicious! What a GREAT idea! I bet these go terrific with your marshmallows (which I’m headed to next!) I love hot cocoa!
What a fun gift. Great presentation.
What a great idea! I also love the marshmallows! I think I’ll surprise my daughter and make marshmallows for her for Christmas!
Forget Alton Brown’s reco, I add cognac to my hot chocolate!
Yes to cognac! I also like adding a little nocino (walnut liqueur).
I’m on board with that idea! Mmm…..
I like a little Bailey’s in my cocoa!
You will find if you add the pinch of cayenne to the jar of mix it will kick up the chocolate flavor in intensity and it is not at all hot. Adding something a bit hot to chocolate and visa versa is done all the time in Mexico–quite traditional.If you leave out that ingredient you are shorting yourself in flavor.
Good point! – similar to many chili recipes that call for chocolate.
Fun post
Checking into those homemade marshmallows now! I just posted about a home hot choc bar setup today!! Glad I found your recipe 
A Nostalgic idea and gift. Yes, thank you, I would love a steaming cup. Thanks for the reminder of a warm and welcoming idea. I have become fond of those jars and told friends about them. I think after Christmas I may place an order for me…. woohoo
Merry Christmas
Lovely idea! And I love the tag. Would you mind telling us where you got the string? I have seen it in a local store but is so expensive for the yardage they sell, I would love to find it online.
Happy Holidays!
Laura-
I purchased the twice from Amazon. Here is a link. Happy Holidays!
-Jamie
Wow! Thank you so much for saving me this morning. I woke in a panic to realize I hadn’t made gifts for my office, and today is the holiday party! Luckily, I had all the ingredients and some jars that I didn’t use this canning season. You truly made my day (and my coworkers day, too!)!
Sadly, I have not had a chance to make/drink hot chocolate this year.
But this recipe does look fantastic and like you said, hot chocolate is basically liquid gold. Maybe later this week I’ll make myself a mug of this stuff 
looks great and perfect for gifts!
Yum! I’d love to do this for friends and family.
I adore those cute jars!!
The tag, the cocoa mix, it’s all perfect. I don’t have a Silhouette, but I do have a Cricut Expression, I should try to use it for something like that.
I’ve made the marshmellows – now I want to run home and make this hot chocolate mix. Yummmmy!!
That tag is SO cute. This would be so fun to give or receive!
Perfect gift! I am making is today
What a great gift idea. And I’m loving those marshmallows
Is there a good vegan alternative to the powdered milk?
I’m lactose intolerant but love a good cup of cocoa.
So to make the hot chocolate is it a 1:1 ratio of mix to water? Somehow 1/2 a mug of mix seems like a lot!
Wow, I love the way you packaged your hot chocolate mix! The tag and the string are so cute! I’m so impressed by your creativity
Is it really that easy?! Awesome.
Such a nice idea. I’ve often wondered why cocoa in the package was really made of. Such cute tags too.
This is a great gift idea! I’ll have to try this next year.
What a cute gift idea! I’ll have to remember this for next year!
Adorable. Love this DIY idea!
I am making a “breakfast in a basket” gift for my little sister for Christmas – this is the perfect addition! I just whipped up a batch, and had to taste test with a mug of it for myself. Threw in a handful of peppermint baking chips and Y-U-M.
Thanks for the fun recipe!
Homemade eatable (/drinkable) gifts are some of my absolute favorite to receive (I am a foodie, after all!). I love the simpleness of the recipe and creativity the decoration allows for. Happy holidays!
I totally agree Ruth @ the tasty tRuth
These are too cute! I just love this idea Jamie
I have made two different hot cocoa mixes for presents and both were huge hits! Going to have to try this one out too.
What a great idea for a gift for friends and family around the holiday season. Love this!
This idea is so adorable, and very doable, no special ingredients needed… You really are a genious! I’m giving this to every friends of mine this Christmas!
Eszti-
I hope you enjoy the recipe and sharing it with your friends! Have a very happy holiday season!
-Jamie
What is the purpose of the corn starch in this recipe? Could I omit it?
Jaz-
The corn starch is added to be used a thickening agent. I hope this helps and have a great day!
-Jamie
Can you leave put the powdered milk?
Nicole-
I’ve never tried the recipe without the powdered milk. Stop back and let me know how this works out. Good luck and have a great day!
-Jamie
Hi! I just stopped by and thought this looked awesome. Wanted to make some to give away but I didn’t have any milk powder. Just wondering if we could just leave it out and ask them to use hot milk instead? Also, would you know the amount of milk to use? thank you so much
I have never tried this recipe without the milk powder. Stop back and let us know how it goes. Good luck and have a great day!
-Jamie
What is the ratio of the dry mix to water? I’d like to know how many spoons to use. thanks!
Teresa-
I would use around 3 tablespoons of dry mix for one cup of milk or water. This can certainly be adjusted to for your tastes; however. Enjoy and have a great day!
-Jamie