If you love hot chocolate, this simple hot cocoa mix will become your winter essential! With just 5 pantry ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, you'll have a rich, cozy mix ready to warm you up!
It's budget-friendly, lasts for weeks, and doubles as the sweetest edible gift! Whether you're snuggling up on a cold evening or planning your Holiday gifting, this homemade mix brings instant comfort with zero effort!
Looking for more edible gifting ideas this Holiday season? Try my homemade vanilla extract, infused oils, homemade chai masala, and easy chili oil!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
✨ Making your own hot cocoa mix gives you full control of the quality of ingredients. No preservatives and additives!
✨ You need just 4 basic ingredients, a bowl, a whisk, and 5 minutes to make a big batch of hot chocolate mixture!
✨ Budget-friendly! Making a big batch at home costs way less than store-bought hot chocolate mixes!
✨ Perfect to cozy up instantly on cold evenings, movie nights, and winter parties.
✨ Use this hot cocoa mix for adorable, homemade gifting! Pack in jars, tie a ribbon, and add a cute little label - everyone will love this thoughtful touch!
Recipe Ingredients
Powdered milk: Also known as milk powder, this is evaporated dry milk. Use full-fat for a richer cocoa. To make a vegan hot cocoa mix, use non-dairy milk powder.
Powdered sugar: Also known as icing sugar. It dissolves more easily than granulated sugar.
Cocoa powder: This is what gives the hot cocoa a rich and intense chocolate flavor. Use good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder.
Cornstarch: This helps make the hot cocoa thick and creamy! It also absorbs moisture, preventing the hot chocolate mixture from clumping.
Salt: Helps round up the chocolate flavor!
Dark chocolate: I love to add it to my homemade hot cocoa mixture - it makes the hot chocolate richer and creamier, like my classic hot chocolate. But it is completely optional! But if you do add chocolate to your hot cocoa mix recipe, please use good-quality dark chocolate. Chop it finely so it melts easily in hot water or milk. This will reduce the shelf life of the hot chocolate mix.
Please see the recipe card below for full information about the ingredients and quantities.
Variations
You can add different fun flavorings to your hot cocoa mix. Try these ideas:
- Crushed peppermint candy canes
- Orange zest
- Cinnamon and nutmeg
- Coffee powder
How To Make Hot Cocoa Mix
Step 1: Combine powdered milk, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Mix very well so there are no lumps. You can even sieve the ingredients or run them through a blender to make sure it's super smooth.
Step 2: Add finely chopped chocolate and mix well again. This step is completely optional!
Step 3: Transfer the hot cocoa mix to an air-tight container or small jars for Holiday gifting!
How To Make Hot Chocolate With Homemade Mix
Step 1: Add 3-4 tablespoons of the cocoa mix to a mug.
Step 2: Pour a cup of boiling water and stir well.
Step 3: Top with marshmallow or whipped cream if you wish, and enjoy!
Top Tips
- You can sift the ingredients or run them through a blender to ensure the dry cocoa mix is smooth and not clumpy.
- To make a vegan hot cocoa mix, please use non-dairy powdered milk.
- The powdered milk in the mix ensures you get a creamy cup of cocoa with just hot water. But if you want a richer flavor, mix in boiling full-fat milk instead.
- For an even richer, thicker texture, simmer the mixture with water or milk in a pot on the stovetop for 2-3 minutes.
- Please note that the shelf life of this homemade dark chocolate hot chocolate mix will be reduced to 1-2 months because of the chocolate. Without the chocolate, this will last up to 6 months.
Serving Suggestions
Top the delicious, creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows or whipped cream. Serve it with cranberry almond shortbread cookies, almond cinnamon cookies, or these gluten-free linzer cookies!
I love pairing my hot cocoa with warm Korean sausage bread, salted butter rolls, or Mallorca sweet bread rolls for breakfast!
Storage Tips
Store the hot cocoa mix in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 2 months. If you don't add the dark chocolate, then this mixture will keep well for up to 6 months.
More Cozy Winter Drinks
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead & drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you'll love this easy homemade hot cocoa mix recipe as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Powdered milk
- 3/4 cup Powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup Cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Dark chocolate, finely chopped This is OPTIONAL
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the powdered milk, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt.3/4 cup Powdered milk, 3/4 cup Powdered sugar, 1/2 cup Cocoa powder, 1 tbsp Cornstarch, 1/2 tsp Salt
- Mix very well, making sure there are no lumps.
- Add the chopped dark chocolate and again mix very well. 1/2 cup Dark chocolate, finely chopped
- Store the cocoa mix in an airtight container. This will last up to 2 months in a cool place. If you make it without dark chocolate, this will last up to 6 months.
To make hot cocoa
- Add 3-4 tablespoons of the cocoa mixture to a mug. Pour a cup of boiling hot water on top and stir well. Top with marshmallows and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can sift the ingredients or run them through a blender to ensure the dry cocoa mix is smooth and not clumpy.
- To make a vegan hot cocoa mix, please use non-dairy powdered milk.
- The powdered milk in the mix ensures you get a creamy cup of cocoa with just hot water. But if you want a richer flavor, mix in boiling full-fat milk instead.
- For an even richer, thicker texture, simmer the mixture with water or milk in a pot on the stovetop for 2-3 minutes.
- Please note that the shelf life of this homemade hot chocolate mix will be reduced to 1-2 months because of the dark chocolate. Without the chocolate, this will last up to 6 months.
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