Quick, easy and delicious, this is the best homemade hot cocoa mix you’ll ever try! It’s especially perfect for holiday gift giving!
Use this homemade hot cocoa mix to make some classic hot cocoa topped with whipped cream, or change it up with some Peppermint Hot Cocoa!
Better Than Store Bought!
Hot cocoa is one of my favorite things to sip on during the holiday season. When the snow starts falling I always start craving it! But I haven’t really found a store-bought cocoa that I really love. They’re all good, but are often expensive and full of all sorts of preservatives.
So this year I thought I’d make my own cocoa mix using a few pantry staples along with one or two secret ingredients. The results? The BEST homemade hot cocoa mix I’ve ever had!
Ingredient Tips:
- Milk Powder: I prefer using whole milk powder but often times nonfat is easier to find. Whole is slightly more rich and creamy while nonfat is a little more on the bitter side.
- White Chocolate: Not only does it helps sweeten things up (along with the powdered sugar), it also makes this cocoa extra smooth and creamy. Make sure you buy white chocolate, not vanilla chips… there’s a difference!
- Cocoa Powder: Probably the second most important ingredient! I prefer unsweetened dark or Dutch cocoa but natural works too if you prefer more of a milk chocolate flavor. And like I always say, use quality ingredients (especially cocoa), because you can definitely taste it in this recipe!
- Pure Vanilla Powder: That’s my secret ingredient! It’s what makes this recipe taste 10x better than any other recipe out there. Nielsen-Massey makes one that I love, and I use it in place of vanilla extract in dry mixes and baked goods. It’s worth the extra money, I promise! (It can also be found in the bulk spice section of stores that carry bulk foods) If you happen to have ground vanilla bean you can definitely use that too, I know I’ve used it in recipes and it’s excellent!
Making Hot Cocoa Mix
MIX + PUREE. Once you have your ingredients measured out, mix them together in a large bowl and then puree them in batches until the mix is nice and smooth (basically until the white chocolate is finely ground). That’s it!
To use, mix ¼ cup of the mix with 1 cup of warm water or milk.
Store it in an airtight container for up to 6 months and enjoy at your leisure! As long as the hot chocolate remains dry, it should stay good. The older it gets the more the chocolate taste fades. But this is a great thing to keep in your food storage!
Whether you’re making a batch of this cocoa for your family or for holiday gifts, everyone is going to love it! If you’re feeling extra fancy you can buy those dehydrated marshmallows and mix those in, or package up some fluffy homemade marshmallows for people to add in later. I hope you’ll give this quick and easy recipe a try!
Enjoy & happy holidays!
For more drink recipes, check out:
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cup dry milk powder - nonfat or whole
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder - or Dutch process*
- 1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips - OR chunks**
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp pure vanilla powder***
- 1 cup dehydrated marshmallows - mini
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Working in 2–3 batches, pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the chocolate is finely ground. Add mini dehydrated marshmallows if desired, and stir to combine.
- To prepare the hot cocoa, put ¼ cup to ⅓ cup of the mix in a large mug and stir in 1 cup of hot water or milk.
How much mix and water do you use to make a cup?
About 1/4-1/3 cup of powder and 1 cup of water or milk.
I bought chunks chocolate in the bulk food department. Do I grate it? And if so, how? These are rather large and while trying to read up on it, it talks about the mess and the melting trying to grate it by hand.
Don’t have whole milk,only non fat dried milk. How can I kick this up a notch? I really want to use your recipe for my Christmas gifts this year.
Hi Cindy! You can use non-fat dried milk. I’d maybe note on the directions to mix with milk instead of water. Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your family and loved ones
I need to pick up some vanilla powder!!!
Be prepared to shell out a lot of cash. The price of vanilla has skyrocketed.
It definitely has! Just a few years ago it was half the price! Thank goodness I live near a restaurant supply store- sometimes I can find it cheaper on Amazon as well.
I made this last year and it really was amazing cocoa mix! I agree that quality ingredients really make all the difference, and seemingly ‘small’ things like the vanilla powder can take a recipe over the top from being just good to really being gift worthy. I’m making this along with chocolate spoons to send as holiday gifts. I was able to track down whole milk powder online. We mix ours with whole milk making it really creamy. I did find popping the white chocolate in the freezer for a few minutes prior to mixing in the blender helped. Our blender is high power and can make things really hot at high speeds. It avoids any clumping. I also sifted the mix to make sure everything was really blended. Thanks for a truly outstanding recipe!!