This easy homemade hot chocolate mix recipe makes the BEST thick, rich, and creamy hot cocoa… All with just 4 ingredients!
In case you missed it, Better Homes and Gardens hosted their first-ever livestream event last week! Filled with tips and tricks for getting your home guest-ready holidays, it’s definitely worth watching the recorded video if you missed it.
I took away tons of ideas for our upcoming celebrations. One of my favorite is this delicious hot chocolate mix… Not only is it a wonderful treat to have on hand when there’s a cold wind whipping around outside, it’s also perfect for gift giving!
Whether you’re making this hot chocolate mix recipe to keep on hand or give as a gift, these BHG Flip-Tite Storage Containers are ideal for keeping your mix fresh and easy to access. I use the 7.5-cup container for this recipe, but if you need the extra storage, this 3-pack is the best value for your money. You get one each of the 4.5-cup, 7.5-cup and 10-cup containers (a savings of $2.91), PLUS the set comes with a 1-year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine!
To be completely honest, if I’m making this hot chocolate mix for personal use, I just dump everything into my container and give it a good shake to mix it all up. But if I’m giving it as a gift, it looks prettiest when you layer the ingredients one by one.
How To Make Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Above is a quick video my girls shot that shows how easy it is to make this hot chocolate mix! This is definitely a kid-friendly project.
Just to recap, we start with the sugar on the bottom, followed by the cocoa powder, dry milk powder, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. One tip I would add is to carefully wipe down any excess powder on the sides between ingredients for a clean presentation (if that’s important to you)…
Finally, add a gift tag with instructions on how to prepare the hot chocolate for drinking (it’s a simple 1:1 ratio), and you’ve got a fantastic teacher gift, hostess gift, thank you gift, etc.! I picked up these gorgeous gold and white gift tags in the Walmart craft department.
Decadent Hot Chocolate Mix
This easy homemade hot chocolate mix recipe makes the BEST thick, rich, and creamy hot cocoa… All with just 4 ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)
- 1 cup starlight peppermints or crushed candy canes (optional)
Instructions
- In a 7.5-cup BHG Flip-Tite Storage Container layer the hot chocolate mix ingredients in the following order: sugar, cocoa powder, milk powder, chocolate chips, marshmallows (optional) and peppermints (optional). Store in a cool, dry spot for up to one month.
- To prepare the hot chocolate mix for drinking, combine 2 cups of mix with 2 cups of water in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate pieces are melted and the mixture is heated through. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 495Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 95gFiber: 4gSugar: 74gProtein: 10g
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
I should note that this mix definitely earns the “decadent” label! It produces a hot chocolate that is creamy, thick and rich, and a little goes a long way, so keep the servings small.
If you want to jazz your hot chocolate mix up a bit more, here are some fun variations:
Mexican hot chocolate mix — add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and a pinch of chili powder.
peppermint hot chocolate mix — add one cup of peppermint candies or crushed candy canes, also a great addition to the white hot chocolate mix below.
white hot chocolate mix — substitute 1 (3.4-oz.) package of white chocolate pudding mix for the cocoa powder, plus a few changes to the ratios throughout.
What’s your favorite way to serve hot chocolate?
Sue Philips
Monday 2nd of November 2015
This looks awesome, but do you really mix it up with 2 CUPS of mix in 2 cups of water? Seems like a lot!
Tara @ Unsophisticook
Monday 2nd of November 2015
Hi Sue! I had the same reaction when I first read the recipe on BHG, and actually, they call for 1 2/3 cup water to 2 cups of mix, so I already increased the water a bit. It makes a very rich and chocolatey hot chocolate (decadent!!!), so small servings go a long way. I definitely think you could increase the water even more if you prefer, though.