It is so easy to make your own hot cocoa mix, and it is so much better than store bought! I made this just to have around the house over the winter, but it would also make a great food gift. One of the best things about making your own is that you can customize it with all sorts of add-ins. I made this with french vanilla creamer and added vanilla bean seeds and then left the pods in the mix. And, instead of the bittersweet chocolate being grated in, I used white chocolate. You could add spices, peppermint crumbles, chocolate chips instead of grated chocolate, flavored chips – like raspberry or cinnamon, orange peel, or different flavored creamers. And, that is all all I can think of off the top of my head – the list of add-ins is really endless. Below is the basic recipe, but play around with it, change the creamer or chocolate or add something in. It is so much better than the plain store bought kind!

I used this recipe from All Recipes as a jumping off point, but changed the ratios just a little bit for my tastes and added actual chocolate.

Make Your Own Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients

10 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups powdered coffee creamer
2 cups dutch processed cocoa
5 cups confectioners' sugar
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated
add-ins as desired
whipped cream or marshmallows for topping

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients together until evenly distributed.
Mix ½ cup mixture with 1 cup boiling water. Stir until all of the mixture is dissolved.
Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.