Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

This week’s post is a little delayed for two reasons:

1. I planned on documenting a gift I made for someone, but I forgot she reads my blog.
2. It’s the holidays and life is bonkers!

Because I realized mid-week I didn’t have content for my blog, I decided to do something different and save the originally intended post for after Christmas. Posts for the next few weeks will be random and may not fit the 1 thing a week timeline exactly.

I am still documenting a gift I am giving, but I am 100% certain this person doesn’t read my blog. I just learned this particular pal will be joining my family for Christmas day and I wanted to give her something special and homemade to welcome her.

The Challenge: To make a delicious homemade hot cocoa mix.

My Inspiration: I have been indulging in a lot of hot cocoa this season, so I thought a homemade hot cocoa mix may be a good idea!

What I Need: In true 1Thing / 1 Week fashion, I wanted to develop my own recipe. I read a whole bunch of different recipes online and then developed my own ratio of various ingredients.

I also needed:

• A food processor
• Ball Jar
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate Chips
• Ziploc Bag
• Paper Plate
• Green Ribbon
• Shiny silver ribbon
• Fabric Quarter
• Shiny Paper
• Printer

Who is Helping Me: Various recipes online that clued me into the ratio of ingredients needed.

Who is NOT Helping Me: Myself. I bought another crappy ribbon this week! I need to stop being cheap and buy decent ribbon.

How I Did It:

1. I combined all the ingredients in the food processor:
   • 3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
   • 1.25 Cup Powdered Sugar
   • 1 Cup Evaporated Milk Powder
   • 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
   • 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
2. Once all the ingredients were well combined, I made a funnel out of a paper plate and put the mix into a sterilized ball jar. I sterilized the jar by boiling it and letting it air dry.
3. I placed some chocolate chips and marshmallows in a plastic bag and removed all the air from the bag.
4. I cut the fabric square in a circular shape to place over the top of the jar. I used my crappy green ribbon wrapped around the jar to hold the fabric down. I had to trim the fabric once it was tied on so the exposed fabric looked even all around the jar.  I also heavily covered the end of the fabric with ribbon so you wouldn’t see frayed fabric.
5. I designed my label and printed it on nice, shiny silver paper.
6. Because I bought such crappy green ribbon, I needed to use additional shiny silver ribbon to attach my label and the bag of marshmallows and chocolate chips.
7. Once everything was secure, I desperately looked for a good place to photograph my creation. The winter sun and the windows in my house make photographing stuff really difficult. After trying 4 different spots and using my fancy-ish lighting rig, I gave up on photographing the cocoa inside and decided to go outside. I found a marble slab, threw it on top of some snow and took a quick pic in the frosty -1 degree air. That’s why the picture sucks. I was desperate for lighting and desperately cold.

Would I do It Again?: Yeah! It was super easy and I was pleased with the flavor. The cayenne pepper gave a slight hint of spiciness, but it was not overpowering. The mix was sweet, but not too sweet. I hope it will please the palette of our friend!

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