How to make hot chocolate mix from scratch that your kids will love! This homemade hot chocolate mix is free of refined sugars and totally paleo, clean eating, gluten-free, and easily vegan!
I’m so excited for Fall and Winter to be here!
Guys…it SNOWED last week in Austin. It was so dang awesome to watch the kiddos play in the back yard snow.
Okay, I played, too 😉
If you’re totally judging me on the snow, let me explain that it never snows in Austin. In fact, the last time it snowed, I was pregnant with Savannah (who is now almost 7 years old).
So pretty big deal.
The colder weather has me craving all sorts of hot drinks, especially a hot cup of hot chocolate.
I used to typically keep a box of hot chocolate mix, usually one like Swiss Miss, in the pantry so we could have our little hot cocoa fix every now and then.
In the Fall and Winter, we would go through those Swiss Miss hot chocolate boxes pretty quickly.
The problems with hot chocolate mixes are:
when you’re out, you’re out (no hot cocoa mix = no hot cocoa = sad little puppy faces on the girls) very processed ingredients (and lots of them)Ever wondered what’s in hot chocolate mix? Well, the Swiss Miss hot chocolate recipe, for example, contains sugar, corn syrup, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, carrageenan, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and artificial flavor. No, thank you.
So, I decided to make my own homemade hot chocolate mix from scratch so we’d (1) never run out of hot chocolate mix (woot!), and (2) be able to control all the ingredients. My homemade hot chocolate mix recipe contains dark cocoa powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon, vanilla powder, and sea salt (plus the milk).
BIG difference.
On Making Your Own Hot Chocolate Mix
Learning how to make homemade hot chocolate mix is like the easiest and best thing in the world.
The flavors are so much more robust and deeper than the pre-packaged powders you buy and the creaminess and hot chocolatey deliciousness that you get from making it yourself will make you never want to buy it at the store again. Oh, the goodness!
Plus you can control all the ingredients so you don’t have to worry about corn syrup and granulated sugar being added, as well as crazy processed ingredients you don’t even know about.
So, yea, I guess you could say it’s pretty dang awesome.
All in all, this is the best hot chocolate mix any of us have ever had.
Since this homemade hot chocolate mix is a powder (dry), it makes the perfect gift for the holidays. You can either include instructions with the hot chocolate mix to just add the milk or you could even add dried/dehydrated milk so it’s just an “add water and go” kinda awesomeness.
In order to make this completely dry for gifts, you can follow this rule:
1 cup milk = 1/4 cup dry milk and 1 cup waterSo, if you’re making the recipe as written, you’d need 1 cup dry milk and then explain in the directions just to add 4 cups of water. Bing bang boom.
If you’re not making for gifts and you’re making it right away, you can also substitute the vanilla powder with pure vanilla extract, since there’s no need to have it be dried. You can use a 1:1 ratio for the powder to liquid, but just add it to the hot chocolate mix once it’s heated through and you’ve removed it from the heat.
The great thing about this hot chocolate mix is how versatile it is. For instance, you can easily make this entire hot chocolate mix without any dairy by using a non-dairy milk. My favorites are unsweetened almond milk and unsweetened coconut milk. Both make a surprisingly similar creamy, dreamy hot cocoa, but any milk will work perfectly.
Oh, the lusciousness!
If you have kids, this is the best hot chocolate mix recipe to use, too because they get to see all the ingredients that go into hot chocolate. I love watching my kids break down recipes and see how simple they really can be.
I made this recipe with Jordan and she got to do almost all the steps and really got a kick out of understanding the different powders, spices and flavors that make up her tasty hot chocolate. She did all the mixing and pouring and I cooked it on the stove. Love that kid.
So, in summary, here’s the list of awesomeness for why you should totally learn how to make homemade hot chocolate mix (and why it’s the best!):
Super, duper yummy — like, the best thing ever. Never run out of hot chocolate again (score!). Neat idea for homemade gifts for the holidays — just pour it into a mason jar and *poof* instant Pinterest-worthy gift. Your children and husband/wife will totally worship you (and will totally be happy and smiling with chocolate covered faces). Total kid-friendly recipe. Free of refined ingredients. Paleo, gluten-free, and clean eating. Vegan, too, if you use a non-dairy milk!P.S. These pics are of Jordan making the hot chocolate mix a few years ago. She looks so small in these pics — hard to believe how big she’s gotten. Still thinks this is the best hot chocolate mix ever.
P.S.S. I also made some homemade marshmallows which sent the girls over the edge into a blissful hot chocolate, marshmallowy heaven. And, yea, ok…me, too. These marshmallows are corn syrup free, but still need s few more tweaks to be free of all refined sugars. More to come on that!
How to make hot chocolate mix from scratch that your kids will love! This homemade hot chocolate mix is free of refined sugars and totally clean eating.
Heat a sauce pan over medium-high heat and add the dry cocoa mixture.
While stirring or whisking constantly, slowly add the milk until all the milk has been added and the dry powders are fully dissolved.
Bring the mixture to a just below a simmer, taking care to stir frequently and to not allow the mixture to boil.Serve hot, preferably with some whipped cream.
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Raise your hand if you haven’t bought any Christmas gifts yet this year (waving wildly over here). The good news is that I’ve heard that my cookbook, Love Real Food, makes a terrific gift. If you have purchased the book for yourself and your friends and family, thank you so much for your support. If you don’t have a copy yet, add it to your Christmas list!
One of my favorite gifts I’ve received over the years was a cookbook with a set of measuring spoons. It was a cute and thoughtful gift, and I reached for those measuring spoons in my drawer earlier today.
So, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite gift-worthy items to give along with a copy of Love Real Food. For even more gift ideas, don’t miss my 2017 holiday gift guide.
Head’s up: these items are affiliate links, meaning that I earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you make a purchase through these links. Thanks for supporting Cookie and Kate!
Measuring Spoons: I love the shape of these measuring spoons, which fit easily into spice jars. KitchenAid Hand Mixer: I hate pulling out my heavy stand mixer, and this hand-held mixer can do everything I need. Love Real Food Cookbook: You’ll definitely want to make the Blueberry Maple Muffins and Carrot Cake. Fiesta Loaf Pan: This loaf pan is so pretty and bakes evenly. Measuring Cups: These sturdy stainless steel measuring cups are just right.The post Love Real Food Gift Guide appeared first on Cookie and Kate.
Alex and I met in college, so our tastes weren’t the most sophisticated when we first met. Read: lots of Austin Powers, Zoolander, and dorm McDonalds. One movie, though, fit our college sensibilities and remains a classic to this day: Elf. The classic Christmas flick starring Will Farrell as Buddy the Elf came out in 2003 during our college careers. What’s made it evergreen today, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that Alex and I have become nostalgic and think that it’s still funny. Whatever the case, I’ve heard people of all ages reciting the lines: “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” “A Christmasgram? I want one!”
In honor of Elf, we’ve created super nostalgic, throw-back-to-2003 Christmas cookies. Yes, narwhal cookies. What’s a narwhal, you ask? My sister gifted our son Larson a stuffed narwhal over Thanksgiving, and my parents asked the same question. And we realized then that most of what we know about narwhals we know from Elf (though it appears Elf did not make it into the Literature mentions of narwhals on Wikipedia). A narwhal is an arctic whale with a large tusk, which can grow up to 10 feet long. It appears in this classic narwhal scene from Elf where the narwhal bids Buddy goodbye as he travels from the North Pole to New York City to find his dad.
Here, we’ve recreated the classic narwhal scene using nothing but cookies and sugar. And what’s more festive than that? We’ve used our soft gingerbread cookie dough as the base. They’re our favorite gingerbread cookies that incorporate a “healthy-ish” take using almond butter, applesauce, whole wheat flour, and lots of spices. To decorate, we’ve dusted the narwhal cookies in powdered sugar, then covered the tusks with edible glitter. Since Christmas and the holidays is all about nostalgia, these narwhal cookies are our top pick for this year.
Let us know if you’re dying to get a cookie cutter to make your own narwhal cookies; we’ll share our source.
How about you: what cookies and movies are most nostalgic to you this time of year?
These narwhal cookies are the most fun Christmas cookie we’ve made. However, here are a few more of our favorite Christmas cookies with a gingerbread vibe:
“The Best” Soft Ginger Molasses CookiesAlmond & Maple Gingerbread Sandwich CookiesGingersnap Peppermint Ice Cream SandwichesDid you make this recipe?If you make these narwhal cookies, we’d love to hear how they turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.
This recipe is…Vegetarian and healthy-ish
A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living
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