I can’t tell you (because I can’t remember) how many requests I’ve received through the years for a healthier hot chocolate mix. Non-dairy creamer and powdered milk are two ingredients in every homemade hot chocolate mix recipe I’ve ever found – and those are two ingredients I try to avoid if possible. I’ve had to keep telling people through the years that, sorry, I have no idea how to make a hot chocolate mix without those ingredients. I worried, fretted, and lost sleep over the fact that I was failing to provide a healthy hot chocolate mix recipe. (Not really, but shucks if I didn’t want one for myself too.)
Then I realized that I was making this way too hard. After all, what we’re all going for in this real food realm is simple, back to basics, whole food ingredients – right? Then why not mix together the basic, real food ingredients needed to make homemade hot cocoa – and keep the mixture on hand as a quick mix to stir into hot milk? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – we now have a real food, real good, real easy Hot Chocolate Mix! And it’s here just in time for Christmas!
You’ll probably look at the simple recipe below and ask, “Really Laura? It took you six years to come up with this?” And I would have to shrug and say, “Uh-huh.”
Homemade Healthier Hot Chocolate Mix
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups sucanat or brown sugar
Place ingredients in a pint-sized jar and shake well. When you are ready for a cup of hot chocolate, here is what you’ll do:
In a small saucepan, whisk 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Hot Chocolate Mix with 1 cup of milk. Heat and stir on medium heat until warm and ready to serve.
This recipe makes about 12-15 one-cup servings, depending on how “heaping” your Tablespoons are when you stir it into the milk.
Want to make this dairy free? Simply add the mixture to a cup of coconut milk. It’s super delicious!
Malachi had a buddy over the day I was playing with this recipe idea. They were sweet enough to be my taste testers, and they both gave it a thumb’s up. Or at least I believe they would have if they weren’t so busy saying “yum” and guzzling it down.
Want to package this Hot Chocolate Mix up for a gift? Simply place a gallon-sized twist tie bag (like this one) down into a mug. Funnel the mix into the bag and tie it up with a bow. Attach a gift tag to the handle of the mug, describing how to make the mix into Hot Chocolate. You’ll find free printable gift tags below!
Download and print Hot Chocolate Mix Tags Here
Now you tell me – is this exciting or what? How fun to have a real food Hot Chocolate Mix to have on hand and to give as gifts! Sometime within in the next six years, I hope to provide you with another recipe idea as simple as this one.
Hey, check out my friend, Cooking Guy making this hot chocolate!
