DIY Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Anyone who knows me very well at all, knows how much I love chocolate. In my opinion, it should have its very own food group and be welcomed at every social gathering and in every home. Whether it’s adding cocoa powder to a banana smoothie (because chocolate and banana were made for each other) or double-chocolate brownies, it is not often to have a week where I have not had chocolate in one form or another.

Foamy Homemade Hot Chocolate!

Hot chocolate is one form of chocolate that is perfect for winter time and especially the holidays. Hot chocolate and Christmas go together like peanut butter and jelly. Can you really have one without the other? In my book, the answer is absolutely not!

However, buying the instant hot chocolate powder can be expensive, and honestly, I don’t love all of the extra ingredients that can be found in it. Plus, is it just me or does the powder take a lot before you really have any flavor? Just me? Well, that’s okay because I found a homemade instant hot chocolate mix that tastes better than the store-bought version and it only takes a few basic ingredients.

A few things I love about this mix is how simple it is to make the base hot chocolate mix, and how easy it is to create various flavor combinations depending on the add-ins you choose. Also, I make a homemade mocha with this hot cocoa mix recipe almost every weekend, and it is the perfect way to start a Saturday morning.

How do you make the best homemade Hot Chocolate mix in a jar?

With Christmas coming up super quickly as well, I find that homemade hot chocolate mix in a jar is a perfect Christmas gift. Since this recipe works up super quick as well, you could make a bunch of hot chocolate mix in bulk, fill some mason jars with the completed mix just leaving a small space at the top, and top the jar with marshmallows, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peppermint pieces, or whatever add-ins you love best! I’ll give you some more ideas below, but really, the combinations of flavors that go with chocolate are many! To finish off decorating your jar, you can use a ribbon to tie a circle of cute fabric around the ring of the jar, add a gift tag explaining how to use the mix, and give the mix to whomever you choose.

What is the homemade Hot Chocolate mix made of?

This homemade hot chocolate mix is easy and simple to make because it has 4 basic ingredients that are really easy to keep on hand. You will need:

–1 cup Cocoa powder: Obviously, this is where the hot cocoa gets its name and flavor! I use just regular Hershey’s milk chocolate flavor, but you could use a dark chocolate version if you really love that rich, deep flavor.

–2 cups Powdered sugar: Sweetness is definitely part of what makes hot chocolate such a treat, but you may be able to create a sugar-free hot chocolate mix by substituting a sugar substitute in for the powdered sugar. I have not personally tried it though, so I am not sure how the end result would compare.

–1 cup Powdered milk: The best homemade hot chocolate mix recipe would not be the best if it wasn’t creamy, and the creaminess comes from the powdered milk.

–1/2 teaspoon Salt: To fully taste the sweetness, you need just a small amount of salt.

–Heavy Cream, Toppings, & Add-ins (optional): While this hot cocoa mix is delicious on its own, it’s fun to make it special by adding some little extras.

How do you make the homemade Hot Chocolate mix?

-Place the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, powdered milk, and salt into a food processor.

-Use the food processor to blend the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. You will want the color and consistency of the mix to be even throughout.

-Use a funnel to pour the mix into the desired jar or container. (If you are packing the jar for a gift, be sure to leave some room at the top to finish it with the add-ins of your choice!)

Add a splash of heavy cream and hot chocolate mix to your mug

-To make hot chocolate, place 2-3 tablespoons into a mug with some heavy cream, if desired, and pour 6-8 ounces of hot water over it. Add any extras you desire, mix well, and enjoy! (P.S. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I loooove heavy cream and add it to my drinks often, but it is not necessary if you don’t want it.)

-For gifting hot chocolate in a jar, you can decorate the lid of the jar with a circle of fabric and a ribbon, add a gift tag explaining how to make the hot chocolate, and give to the special recipient!

What can you add to homemade hot chocolate?

There are so many possibilities that I don’t think I could create a master list, but I thought I would share some of my favorite variations on the classic hot chocolate.

–Traditional Hot Cocoa: Everyone loves the OG favorite: hot cocoa with marshmallows on top, so it is a must for this list!

–Peppermint Hot Chocolate: Simply add either broken up candy canes or (my favorite) Andes mint pieces. Stir the pieces in until they are melted, and the peppermint flavor is a perfect Christmas Eve treat!

–Salted Carmel Cocoa: Salted caramel lovers will love this alternative to the original homemade hot chocolate mix. Simply add salted caramel chips or broken up pieces of hard salted caramel to the mug with the mix, stir well and enjoy!

–Toffee Hot Cocoa: Similar to the salted caramel hot chocolate, all you have to do is add the toffee pieces to the mug with the mix and stir until melted before drinking up.

–Mexican Hot Chocolate: Add a dash of cinnamon to the top of your hot chocolate to savor this spicy version of our chocolatey drink!

And so many more! I would love to hear what combinations you can come up with and which ones are you favorites! I would love to hear about them and see how your DIY Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix turned out!