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.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I plan to make a few batches in mason jars for gifts. How much is in one serving? I see it yields 20 – 25; but what measurements? I need to make quite a few (about 20) 16 oz mason jar batches. I want to be sure to have enough of the materials I need as I am making them. Thanks!
Well, I am not sure how much could fit in a 16 ounce jar. So, you could get 20-25 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup scoops from the mixture. You may want to see how many 1/4-1/3 scoops fit in the jar, to know how many times you will have to make the recipe. Does that make sense? This would make a great gift! Good luck!
Makes total sense! Thank you for letting me know!
I see Ghirardelli makes sweet ground white chocolate powder. I would think it would work well in this recipe but am not sure of the amount since it’s a powder. D you suppose 1c might be a good guess?
Can you tell me what makes you dark chocolate mix lighter brown color? Mine turned out very dark looking. My recipie is very similar to yours, with the exception of the white chocolate.
Definitely the white chocolate! You can also use powdered white chocolate (I know Ghirardelli makes it) if you don’t have a food processor or are unable to grind down solid white chocolate. Hope that helps 🙂
This is fantastic! Needed a little more powdered sugar, but otherwise perfection! I found that I only needed about 2TBSP for 8oz of water. I am making up little bags as gifts for xmas.
FYI I got most of the ingredients other than sugar, salt, and dark cocoa from Amazon: (Whole powdered milk: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FRFRZF6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1, powdered vanilla: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001WOLMU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1, dehydrated marshmallows: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VMUAL2O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and I can vouch those products worked really well.) I used my food processor to grinds white chocolate chips into a powder – Trader Joe’s has real, cocoa butter white chocolate chips (but only in the fall/holiday season) and the bag is only a couple bucks, so go stock up now!
Can i make this without a food processor?