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.
can I omit the white chocolate and still retain the great flavor?
It’s essential to the recipe as written, however, you could omit the vanilla powder, reduce the powdered sugar by a half cup and add 1/2 cup of powdered coffee creamer instead.
If I made a large 16 cup batch of the homemade cocoa mix…how much of white chocolate would I need….I bought Ghirardelli white chocolate powder to use in place of white chocolate chips.
Oh, I’ve never seen white chocolate powder! For a single recipe as written, I’d suggest using about 1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
I can’t get the vanilla powder. How do you use the vanilla bean? Do you ground up the whole bean?
Thanks
The vanilla bean will be moist (you generally scrape the insides of it out). For this particular recipe you need powder.
Found this recipe and had to try it. I give it a 10,, excellent flavor. Just the right amt of sweetness and chocolate. I used a Dutch process cocoa powder. I used from Allisons Pantry – Augason farms Country Fresh nonfat dry milk powder and Alison’s Pantry Sweet Vanilla Powder and Bakers premium white chocolate squares. I made a cup just to make sure it was good. My mugs handle 1 2/3 cups liquid so I used a 1/4 cup scoop and another tsp just because I like it chocolatey!, thanks again so much…..
Looks super yummy! Pinning and sharing with my group. Maine is currently under a deep freeze so we could all use a little warming up.