HOT COCOA MIX

If you are one of my friends that I exchange gifts with, please close this page now!

Now that they're gone let me tell you that one of the gifts that my friends will be receiving for Christmas is this Hot Cocoa Mix.

If you were to enter my dining room right this minute you would see a festive forest of hot cocoa on my table. 

  

 

I found the most adorable tree jars at Walmart (2 bucks each).  I snapped up a whole whack of them to put my cocoa mix into and I think that they look very smart.  The jars come with a little red ribbon which is cute…

But this year I “feel like a natural woman” so I went with the brown burlap ribbon I got at Michael’s.  I wrote the instructions for making Hot Cocoa Mix into drinkable hot cocoa on a gift tag and tied it onto the ribbon.

This mix is really a hybrid of hot chocolate and hot cocoa.  I find pure hot chocolate very rich, and I find just cocoa a little one note…So I added chocolate to the cocoa!  In order to make this with only boiling water you could add a couple of cups of powdered non- dairy creamer to the mix; but if you read my post for Cinnamon Vanilla Coffee Creamer, you know how I feel about non-dairy creamers, so I prefer to have the recipients of this cocoa add it to heated milk.

So now you know what my friends are getting for Christmas this year; and I’m guessing that they know it too!  

Here are some other great Edible Gift Ideas: 
Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn 
Chocolate Covered Potato Chips 
Gourmet Caramel Apples

Here’s what you do.

 

Add the powdered milk to a large bowl…

 

…Along with the sugar.   

I put some sugar and a vanilla bean into a container and left it for a couple of days for vanilla scented sugar.  This adds a little something to the cocoa, but is not necessary. 

   

I have a friend who prefers Truvia sweetener, so I also dropped a vanilla bean into a container of Truvia.  I used the Truvia in hers to make it almost sugar free (don’t get me started on artificial sweeteners)…

 

…add the instant espresso and sea salt as well.  

The coffee flavor is not noticeable, it just enhances the chocolate.  

I used decaffeinated espresso, so that I won’t have any of my overstimulated friends cursing me if they can’t get to sleep. (If you want to make this mocha flavored; double the amount of instant espresso).

 

Sift the cocoa and cornstarch into the ingredients to get rid of any lumps.

Give it a whisk to incorporate the ingredients.

 

Add the mini chocolate chips and whisk it again to be sure that the chips are evenly distributed. 

It’s important that you use the mini chips, regular chocolate chips won’t melt, leaving a glob of chocolate in the bottom of the mug…and nobody wants a glob of anything in the bottom of their mug.

Spoon the mix into attractive air tight containers.  A canning funnel helps to keep things neat.

 

Be sure to write the instructions on a card.

 

Tie it up with a ribbon on to your jar.

Makes about 10 cups of mix, or about 4 to 6 jars.

4              cups       Powdered milk

2              cups       Sugar (or 1 1/3 cups Truvia)

½             cup        Instant espresso coffee

½             tsp.        Sea salt

2 ½          cups       Cocoa (Hershey's Dark was used in this recipe)

2              tsp.        Cornstarch

1 ½          cups       Mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet

1.        Add the powdered milk, sugar (or Truvia), instant espresso and salt to a large bowl. 

2.       Sift the cocoa and cornstarch into that same bowl; stir with a whisk until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

3.       Add the mini chocolate chips, stir with a whisk until the chips are evenly distributed.

4.       Spoon into attractive airtight containers; store in a cool, dry place.

*Note.  Make this a Mocha Mix by doubling the amount of Instant Espresso.

To make hot cocoa: add 1/3 cup of mix to 1 cup of hot milk; stir until the chocolate has melted, 30 to 45 seconds.

CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS

I’ve seen Chocolate covered potato chips in the store at the holidays in previous years, and I’ve been intrigued.  I would have bought them to try but they were ridiculously priced. 

So it was actually way back in June that I made these chips for a fraction of the cost of what the department store charges.  I wish that I had some new pictures of these yummies all done up in Christmas packaging for you, but I have been busy with so many other treats to share with y’all.

I really wanted to share these with you now, because Chocolate Covered Potato Chips are so quick and easy to make…and they make a great gift!  Crisp and salty potato chips are the perfect partner to bitter sweet chocolate and the caramel flavor of Heath Bits.  The recipient of this gift will either thank you or curse you, because they are totally addictive; once you taste them you may want to keep them for yourself!

 

Here’s what you need. 

Notice that I sorted out and kept the whole, unbroken chips separate… there are not a lot of whole chips in a bag, that’s why you need 3 bags.

I tried milk chocolate chips first and my chocolate seized.

If you prefer milk chocolate then be sure to use bars not chips.  The chips have stabilizers that make them clump... 

 

...Though dark chocolate chips always melt nicely.

Melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water; I prefer that over a microwave for this recipe.

 

Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.

I started with two, but then ended up needing three pans.

Now I tried two methods with these chips, the dunk method and the drizzle method; they were equally tasty.

 

The dunk method is fancier and takes more time, plus you should only use whole, unbroken chips.

Bring the double boiler over to your work station, and leave the chocolate over the warm water; this gives you more time to work with the chocolate.

Dip only half of a chip in the chocolate.   

You could stop there with this tasty treat, but why would you if you could…

 

…Sprinkle the Heath Bits over the melted chocolate!

 

Place the chip on a sheet pan, and repeat with the remaining chips.

 

The drizzle method is super easy, and you don’t necessarily need whole chips, but you don’t want to use the itty bitty pieces.  For this method you will only need 2 bags of chip, maybe slightly less.

 

Lay the chips on the sheet pans, and drizzle the chocolate over the chips with a spoon or a spatula…

 

…Then sprinkle the Heath Bits over the melted chocolate.

 

If you have room in the refrigerator, put the pans of chips in there, in order for the chocolate to set quickly.  If not just put them in a cool dry place. 

 

 

Once the chocolate has set Chocolate Covered Potato Chips can be packaged in cellophane bags to give as gifts, small bags for the Cookie Exchange, or place a bowl of them on your dessert table.   

Be sure to store them in a cool dry place.

 

Now you are going to love these Chocolate Covered Potato Chips soooo much, and you will be so glad that you didn’t pay a small fortune for them, that you’re gonna want to thank me; so let me just say…You’re welcome, and enjoy!

3-14       oz. bags                 Ruffles potato chips

1-10       oz. bag                  Semi-sweet chocolate chips

4           oz.                        Heath English Toffee Bits (optional)

  1.        Sort through the potato chips for the whole, unbroken chips; put those in a bowl to use.

  2.        Gently melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering, not boiling water; stirring frequently.

  3.        Meanwhile line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper.

  4.        When the chocolate has melted bring the whole double boiler over to where you are working, leave the chocolate over the double boiler, this will give you more time to work with the chocolate.

  5.       Dip half of a potato chip into the melted chocolate, and then sprinkle Heath Bits over the chocolate; lay the chip on a sheet pan. Repeat this with each chip.

  6.       Put the chocolate covered chips into the refrigerator to set. 

  7.       Package as desired and store in a cool dry place.

*Alternative method:   You will only need two bags of chips. 

 1.     Sort out and keep the larger pieces of chips, it doesn’t matter if they’re not whole.  Spread the chips on 3 parchment lined sheet pans.

2.          Gently melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering, not boiling water; stirring frequently.

3.      When the chocolate has melted bring the whole double boiler over to where you are working, leave the chocolate over the double boiler, this will give you more time to work with the chocolate.
4.      Use a spoon or a spatula to drizzle the melted chocolate all over the chips, and then sprinkle Heath Bits over the chocolate covered chips.
6.         Put the chocolate covered chips into the refrigerator to set. 

      7.         Package as desired and store in a cool dry place.

**Note if you prefer milk chocolate, then use milk chocolate bars, not chips.