Decadent Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

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This decadent homemade hot chocolate mix with 5 ingredients takes only minutes to make. Add it to steaming milk and serve it in big mugs with dollops of whipped cream. Package it in mason jars as a cozy gift for family and friends.

I fondly remember as a kid the little packets of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix. After shaking down the contents of the packet, it was added to a hot cup of water. Usually the mug of chocolaty goodness was too hot to drink. It was such a special treat to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate after a day playing in the snow or skating on our town’s frozen lake.

Fast forward about 45 years (ugh!). I am still a fan of a delicious decadent mug of hot chocolate. But, I have graduated from my days of drinking the prepackaged variety. As soon as the weather turns chilly, I whip up a batch of homemade hot chocolate mix to have on hand.

the ingredients in homemade hot chocolate mix

Many of the recipes on the internet for hot chocolate mix include powdered milk. While this method produces a creamy mug of cocoa, I never have a use for the remaining big box of powdered milk.

My recipe includes 5 ingredients. And usually a well-stocked pantry has them on hand. It’s as easy as whisking the ingredients together to make a batch of the mix.

• Mini semi sweet chocolate chips – Typically, some of the chips do not fully melt when a cup of cocoa is made. This makes for tiny extra chocolate treats at the bottom of the mug.
• Rich cocoa powder – buy the best cocoa powder you can find. Lower quality cocoa powder will taste flat. A premium cocoa powder will add to the richness of the luscious drink.
• Granulated sugar – I like the ease of measuring regular white sugar for this recipe. I find powdered sugar hard to measure and also messy.
• Kosher salt – A smidgen of kosher salt heightens the flavor of the chocolate.
• Cornstarch – As a thickener, cornstarch adds creaminess to hot cocoa. And don’t we all love a steaming mug of creamy hot cocoa?

chef tips for making a mug of hot chocolate

• Store the hot chocolate mix in an air tight container. I use mason jars to store the chocolatey goodness.
• For each mug, heat 1 cup of the milk of your choice (I favor whole milk but, almond, oat, coconut or low fat will make delicious hot cocoa too) until it is just simmering. You want to see tiny bubbles forming around the edges of the pot.

• Add 3 tablespoons for the sugary homemade hot chocolate mix for each cup of hot cocoa and stir to combine. Continue stirring for a couple minutes. The mix will dissolve. But, some of the mini chocolate chips will remain. This is a chocolaty bonus at the bottom of the mug.
• Pour the hot cocoa into a mug and top with freshly made whipped cream. The extra step of whipping heavy cream with a hand or stand mixer for 4 to 5 minutes is so well worth it. Don’t skip this step. A sprinkle of cinnamon is a nice finishing touch.

If you make this easy and delicious homemade hot chocolate mix, I’d love hearing from you all. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.

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more cozy recipes to try

• Pumpkin Streusel Bread Mini Loaves
• Mini Chocolate Puff Pastry Rolls
• Great Aunt Rose’s Sour Cream Pound Cake
• Easy Sausage, Spinach and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole

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