Hot Cocoa Mix with Options

-





This year I set out to make some hot cocoa mix to give away as gifts for the holidays. I wanted to make something different then plain hot cocoa. I like plain hot cocoa, but thought it would be fun to try something new.

I searched around the internet for ideas and found some ideas. I wrote down what I liked and skipped what I didn't want and continued to search. After a lot of scribbling notes and searching I came up with my own plan and created these recipes.

I wanted a basic recipe that would allow me to make simple changes or additions to it and create different flavored mixes. And that is what I ended up making and will be sharing with you today.

First thing to do is make the basic hot cocoa mix. I tried 2 different variations and liked them both. You can pick whichever one you'd like or try them both and see what you think.
I got a few mixing bowls out and got busy. I found that the cocoa powder can sometimes be a bit lumpy as well as powdered sugar. You can use a whisk to mix the lumps out, you can put it through a strainer or sifter or put it all in a food processor to mix well. I chose to use a whisk or a strainer. 


Hot Cocoa Basic Mix #1
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup non-dairy creamer
1 cup powdered milk
¾ cup cocoa powder
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add 3 to 4 T per cup of boiling water (or to taste).



Hot Cocoa Basic Mix #2
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered milk
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add 3 to 4 T (or amount to taste) per cup of boiling water.


Now that you have the basic mix it's time to make some yummy flavored mixes.

The first one I made was: 

Peppermint Crunch Hot Cocoa Mix
You'll need:
Hot cocoa mix
Andes Peppermint Crunch

You can find the peppermint crunch in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips:






The basic proportions are:

2 cups basic hot cocoa mix (either #1 or #2 will work)
1 cup candies or flavored chips

Combine 2 cups of your mix with the Andes Peppermint Crunch and you are done. 

Toffee Hot Cocoa Mix
Same principle as above.
2 cups mix with 1 cup Heath Toffee pieces (found in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips).
This bag of toffee is 8oz. It measured out to be a little over 1 cup. I added the whole bag to my cocoa mix.


Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix
2 cups hot cocoa mix
1 cup chocolate chips
Combine well in a large bowl.

The options are really endless. You can add any type of baking chips you would like, mint, white chocolate, etc. You can also use peppermint candies that have been crushed in place in the Andes Peppermint Crunch.

The final type of hot cocoa I tried was:

French Vanilla

To make this I decided to first make vanilla sugar. I did this very simply. I added 1t vanilla to 2 cups of sugar.  I used some homemade vanilla and the little black bits you see are the vanilla bean.  I mixed it all well, spread it out on a jelly roll pan and let it dry for an hour or so.  


After it dried it was a little brittle so I broke it up and ran it through my food processor.  



I used this sugar to make the Basic Hot Cocoa Mix #1

My thoughts on this when I was done and had taste tested it:

It did not have a real strong vanilla taste to it. It made a rich and delicious tasting cup of hot cocoa, but it didn't scream “french vanilla” to me.

My thoughts on what I would try next time:
Substitute french vanilla non dairy coffee creamer for the plain coffee creamer. For sure this will give you that flavor.
If you want a more natural flavor (which is what I was going for), I would try doubling or even tripling the amount of vanilla when making the vanilla sugar.
I would try this again, except I have a LOT of hot cocoa right now. Ha, ha!! :) and many more projects to move onto. I'll try this again next year. However if any of you try either of these options for to make some french vanilla hot cocoa mix, please let me know what you did and what you thought of it.


Of course I taste tested these mixes that I made and was happy with all of them (other than the french vanilla as I just mentioned). I put them in canning jars and labeled them so they are all ready for friends and gift baskets now.





Comments

  1. Kim in NCNovember 30, 2018 at 10:28 AM

    Dear Crystal,
    How does your basic mix compare to your old hot chocolate mix that had succanat, powdered milk, cocoa and salt? Thanks for everything! We use a lot of your recipes. The most recent was the potato soup in the instant pot, my dh loves it! God bless, Kim in NC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalDecember 2, 2018 at 9:25 AM

      Hi Kim! My older hot cocoa mix is a great mix too. I didn't want such a huge amount of hot cocoa and wanted to try a mix with non dairy creamer in it to see what I thought. Crystal

      Delete
    2. Kim in NCDecember 2, 2018 at 12:02 PM

      Thanks so much. I like the mix so I think I'll add some extras in it. Thanks so much for everything! Merry Christmas! Kim

      Delete

Post a Comment

All messages are moderated. After approval your message will be posted. Thank you for your comments!! Crystal :)

Popular posts from this blog

Canning Chicken Noodle-less Soup

-
Image
Today was one of those busy days that it seemed I was moving from the time my feet hit the floor until this evening.. But, I got so much done and that is a great feeling! :) One of my accomplishments today was canning 14 jars of chicken noodle-less soup. I call it “noodle-less” because you can’t can noodles. They end up falling apart. So I canned the chicken, veggies and broth. When I go to use the soup I will bring it to a boil and then add a handful of noodles (any type of pasta will work) and cook it until the noodles are done. Because I plan to add the pasta after the fact I wanted to make sure there was enough chicken broth to do this. So I only filled my jars about half to two thirds with chicken and veggies and then filled with chicken broth. Here is how I did this…. I started off with 2 chickens that were a total weight of about 10lbs. I put them in my 14 quart stock pot… I then added 2 gallons of water.. And 3 tablespoons salt.. I brought this ...
Read more

Canning Cabbage

-
Image
I had 4 large heads of cabbage that weighted about 25 pounds. We had some really hot days and I figured I better get the last of them picked soon. My daughter Sierra and I ended up processing 3 of them yesterday and I have one left for a meal on my menu this week. I made pickled cabbage and then canned up the last of the cabbage. Here is the recipe for the pickled cabbage (according to how I made it)… 8 pounds cabbage 1 large onion 1 ½ red peppers 1 lb carrots ¾ cup salt 9 cups water 12 cups white vinegar 10 cups sugar 1t mustard seed 1t celery seed Slice cabbage thinly. Slice onion and peppers. Grate carrots. Mix all veggies together in a very large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix in well. Let sit for 2 hours to soften veggies. Rinse veggies well.  In a large stock pot (mine was 14 quarts) combine water, vinegar, sugar, spices. Bring to a boil. Add cabbage/veggies. Bring to a boil. Fill hot pint jars with veggies using a slotted spoon. Fill jar with brine...
Read more

Canning Beef Stew

-
Image
In my last blog post I shared that I had bought 10 pounds of beef roast. I cut it all up and used 4 pounds in 2 crockpot freezer meals ( http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/2012/02/two-more-crockpot-meals-for-freezer.html ) . I used the other 6 pounds of meat along with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery to can beef stew. Here were the general proportions I used in canning 7 quarts of beef stew.. 6# beef 2# potatoes 2# carrots 1# onions 1# celery After I cut up the meat and got the freezer meals done I moved to the beef stew. I peeled and cut up the potatoes and carrots. I chopped up the onions and sliced the celery. I pulled out 3 quarts of veggie stock from my freezer to use for liquid in the stew. You can use beef or chicken stock or you can use water. I did not add anything to thicken the liquid as usually thickeners don’t hold up in canning. You can thicken the broth after it is opened if you would like. I added 1 teaspoon salt to each of my ...
Read more