How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
Learn how to make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for gifts with my easy step by step tutorial. I provide a delicious recipe with 5 flavor variations, plus where to buy jars. This is your one stop shop for how to make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for gifts!
If you are looking for more homemade gifting ideas try Peanut Butter Pretzel Christmas Crack, Homemade Pancake Mix, Chocolate Peppermint Olive Oil Granola, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Bark, Chocolate Peppermint Olive Oil Granola or How to Make Sugar Cookie Mix for Gifts.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- Ready In: 5 minutes
- Makes: 1 gift jar
- Main Ingredients: Dutch cocoa powder, cane sugar
- Flavor Profile: rich cocoa
- Dietary Info: vegan, gluten free, eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: homemade hot chocolate mix recipe with 5 flavor variations!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: This Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix is incredibly easy to make. You just need two simple simple pantry ingredients: cane sugar and cocoa!
- Best Hot Chocolate: This was the hot chocolate mix recipe from my bakery! I served these flavors for over a decade and they were all customer favorites.
- Kids Can Help: This is a great homemade gift that your kids can help with. Depending on how old your kids are, they can help weigh ingredients, mix the sugar and cocoa together, fill the jars, or cut and tie ribbon. Put them to work!
- Vegan & Gluten Free: This Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix only has two ingredients: sugar and cocoa. So, it’s naturally vegan and gluten free. This makes it a great gift that you can give to anyone even if you don’t know if they have any dietary restrictions or allergies.
- Better Than Store-Bought: Many hot chocolate mixes can have unnecessary ingredients in them. This just has two organic ingredients!
- Full of Holiday Cheer: Nothing says the holidays like a warm cup of hot cocoa! This gift is full of holiday cheer and it can be enjoyed all the way into the winter season.
Jump to:
- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Flavor Variations
- Things You Need for Gifts
- Baker’s Tips for Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- How to Make Hot Chocolate with Hot Cocoa Mix
- Recipe FAQ’s
- More Cozy Hot Chocolate Recipes
- How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- The Bake Shop
When the cold days start coming, hot cocoa is my drink of choice every day! When I owned my bakery it was something I looked forward to when I got into the shop early in the morning, taking a few minutes while the oven heated up to make myself a hot cup of cocoa!
This recipe is the hot chocolate mix we served at my bakery for over a decade. I'm sharing 5 different flavor variations for original cocoa, chai, chili (Mexican hot chocolate), pumpkin spice and gingerbread! You can use this mix to make a single serve hot cocoa or a big batch if you are hosting a holiday party. You can add whipped cream on top, mini marshmallows or enjoy this cocoa all on its own.
Try some of my favorite cookies and cocoa pairings, such as:
- Original hot cocoa with Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Homemade Caramel
- Chai hot cocoa with Big Chocolate Cookie
- Chili hot cocoa with Espresso Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin spice hot cocoa with Soft Baked Pumpkin Spice Cranberry Sandwich Cookies
- Gingerbread hot cocoa with Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Cookies Without Eggs
Ingredients
- Cane Sugar: I use organic cane sugar.
- Cocoa Powder: I use organic NuNaturals Dutch cocoa powder for this as it's less acidic than traditional unsweetened cocoa powder. This makes it smoother, richer and allows the chocolate flavor to shine through without being bitter. This is the cocoa powder we used at my baker and still what I use today.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Flavor Variations
You can make this hot cocoa mix into four different flavored hot cocoa mixes! These were all hot chocolate flavors we served at my bakery and they are all so delicious!
- Chai: Add in the following spices with the cane sugar and cocoa. If you have a chai spice mix, you can use that in place of the total amount of spices. So, that would be 3 1/2 tablespoons.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- scant 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- scant 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Chili: This is basically a Mexican hot chocolate, but we called it chili hot cocoa at my bakery. Add in the following spices into the bowl with the cane sugar and cocoa powder. If you don't have ground vanilla bean, then you can skip it. Don't use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste as that won't mix into the dry mix very well at all.
- 1 teaspoon ground vanilla bean
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
- Pumpkin Spice: Add in 1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon of Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix into the mix with the cocoa and sugar.
- Gingerbread: Add in 1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon of Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix into the mix with the cocoa and sugar.
Things You Need for Gifts
- Glass Jar: I use 17-Ounce Canister Jars for this. But, mason jars also work great.
- Ribbon: You'll need some ribbon to tie around for a gift.
- Gift Tags: If you are making different hot chocolate mixes, it helps to have gift tags so you can label each flavor as they will look similar when all mixed together.
Baker's Tips for Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- Weigh ingredients for the best results. This is quicker, easier, and you get the exact amounts.
- Make sure your cocoa is sifted. This is super important as cocoa can clump easily.
- I use Dutch cocoa powder, which is different from natural cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder has had some of the acidity removed, which makes it have a richer chocolate flavor and it's not bitter. Natural cocoa powder is going to be more bitter, so you can use either one, but I recommend Dutch cocoa for the best results.
- I use glass jars to gift this Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix in. You can use any kind of glass jar you want to. I use a ratio of 75% sugar to 25% cocoa. So, if you are using a different size jar, you can easily change the recipe to match the size jar you have.
- This makes 1 jar, but you can double or triple the recipe to make more jars.
- I used a soup ladle to transfer the cocoa mix to the jar (you can see in my video, haha!). It works great. But, you could also use a funnel if you have one.
- Hot cocoa mix will last for 1 to 2 years in your pantry. So this makes a great gift to make ahead of time with plenty of time for the recipient to enjoy it once you gift it.
- This also makes a great gift to send to loved ones in the mail as it is not super perishable. You can send it anytime this month and even if the package gets delayed for a day or two it won’t make a difference!
How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
- In a large bowl, add the cane sugar and cocoa powder.
- Whisk to combine completely and make sure that the cocoa and sugar are completely combined and there are no portions of just cocoa or just sugar.
- Transfer the mix to the prepared jars and tie with a ribbon or add a gift tag.
How to Make Hot Chocolate with Hot Cocoa Mix
- Add 1 cup of milk to a small pot. You can use your favorite milk (cow's milk, almond, coconut, oat, pistachio, or cashew milk all work!). You can even use bone broth for a protein hot cocoa.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix to the pot.
- Put over medium/high heat and whisk together. Heat until the cocoa mix is dissolved and the temperature reaches 140°F on a drink thermometer. (If you don't have a drink thermometer, heat until warm to the touch. Do not boil the hot milk as this can burn it and that burnt flavor will transfer to the cocoa).
- Add your favorite whipped cream on top like Homemade Organic Whipped Cream or Homemade Organic Vegan Whipped Cream.
- Top with a dash of cinnamon, sprinkle of cocoa, or drizzle of Brown Butter Butterscotch Sauce or Homemade True Caramel Sauce!
- Or top with homemade marshmallows like Homemade Marshmallows Without Eggs, Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows Without Corn Syrup, Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows Without Eggs, or Homemade Cherry Marshmallows which were all popular recipes from my bakery too!
- Enjoy with your favorite cookies like Vanilla Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mexican Hot Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, if you prefer regular cocoa powder (natural cocoa powder) to Dutch, you can use that in its place. Natural cocoa powder can be much more bitter than Dutch cocoa powder as Dutch cocoa powder has had acidity removed. So, it's personal preference, but I think Dutch cocoa powder gives this cocoa a smoother more rich chocolate flavor.
If you would like, you can use less sugar. I haven't tested this recipe with less sugar as I believe it has just the right amount as it is. I use a ratio of 25% cocoa powder and 75% sugar. You could try a different ratio with less sugar and more cocoa. But, I highly recommend to try this with just one hot chocolate, before making it into a mix incase you don't like it! The way to try that would be use 1 ounce total and split it up with whatever sugar ratio you would like. So, if you want to do 20% sugar (instead of my 25%) then try .2 ounces of sugar and .8 ounces of cocoa. Make up one hot cocoa, taste it, and if you like that, then make your mix using this ratio. You can experiment from here. But, I wouldn't recommend making a whole batch of mix unless you try it as it's too much to waste incase you don't like it.
Yes, coconut sugar works instead of cane sugar if you prefer. It will have a slightly different flavor though, coconut sugar is a little more rich with a light coconut and molasses flavor.
I use a 17-ounce glass jar here, but a mason jar is very similar and will work as well. If you are using small jars, you can just add in less cocoa mix too.
If you put all the mix into one jar, like I do here, it will make 13 servings of hot cocoa.
Some people like to make hot cocoa mix with whole milk powder so they can make the hot chocolate with water. But, I have never done this because I don't like to make hot cocoa with water. As someone who served gourmet hot chocolates made from scratch at my bakery for over a decade, I cannot get on board with water hot cocoa.
Use 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix per 1 cup of milk. You can use cow's milk or coconut milk if you want to make it vegan or dairy free. This is how we made it at my bakery. If you want to do other substitutions for milk such as oat or almond milk you can also use your preferred method. But I have tested all kinds of nondairy milks when I had my bakery and we all thought coconut makes the most creamy hot chocolate. But, if you want a protein hot cocoa you can use bone broth with this mix instead of milk!
No, I do not recommend this with this hot cocoa mix. You would need to add in a milk powder or dried milk at least to make it taste better but I have not tested this.
If you don't sift the cocoa powder, it can be clumpy. Sifting it really helps prevent this from happening. If it sits in the pantry for a very long time, it can also clump as well.
This Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix will last for 1 to 2 years in your pantry. The best kind of storage is the glass jar!
Yes, this is a wonderful gift to send in the mail for the holidays as it's shelf stable
More Cozy Hot Chocolate Recipes
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How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- 17 oz Glass Jars
- Holiday Ribbon
- Gift Tags (optional, but helps if making multiple flavors)
Ingredients
- 276 grams cane sugar
- 92 grams Dutch cocoa powder (sifted)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the cane sugar and cocoa powder.
- Whisk to combine completely and make sure that the cocoa and sugar are completely combined and there are no portions of just cocoa or just sugar.
- Transfer the mix to the prepared jars and tie with a ribbon or add a gift tag.
Video
Notes
- Weigh ingredients for the best results. This is quicker, easier, and you get the exact amounts.
- Make sure your cocoa is sifted. This is super important as cocoa can clump easily.
- I use Dutch cocoa powder, which is different from natural cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder has had some of the acidity removed, which makes it have a richer chocolate flavor and it's not bitter. Natural cocoa powder is going to be more bitter, so you can use either one, but I recommend Dutch cocoa for the best results.
- I use glass jars to gift this Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix in. You can use any kind of glass jar you want to. I use a ratio of 75% sugar to 25% cocoa. So, if you are using a different size jar, you can easily change the recipe to match the size jar you have.
- This makes 1 jar, but you can double or triple the recipe to make more jars.
- I used a soup ladle to transfer the cocoa mix to the jar (you can see in my video, haha!). It works great. But, you could also use a funnel if you have one.
- Hot cocoa mix will last for 1 to 2 years in your pantry. So this makes a great gift to make ahead of time with plenty of time for the recipient to enjoy it once you gift it.
- This also makes a great gift to send to loved ones in the mail as it is not super perishable. You can send it anytime this month and even if the package gets delayed for a day or two it won’t make a difference!
- High Altitude – Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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I give these every year and they’re always such a hit!