Christmas Gift Extravaganza Part I

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

About now, some of you may be getting some of my homemade goodies, so I thought I'd start talking about them.

It's Recession Christmas.  Money is tight for all of us.  But that doesn't change the fact that a lot of us still have too much stuff.  This year, I've made a real point to give gifts that will be consumed.  I mean, everyone loves a nice tasty Christmas treat, right?  I love making them, so it's definitely a win win situation.  Add the fact that they're good for the planet, and you've got a win win win.  That's the best kind.

The first gift up on my list is Hot Cocoa Mix.  I don't exactly know what inspired me to make cocoa mix from scratch.  I guess I wanted to make something chocolatey, but didn't want to repeat the chocolate truffles I made last year.  Hot cocoa seemed fun and great for people of all ages.

Googling "homemade hot cocoa mix" brought up a lot of recipes with non-dairy creamer in them.  I don't want to judge what you put in your coffee, but I'm trying to make gourmet gifts here!  No fake chemicals in my cocoa aloud!  Finally I found one by good old Alton Brown over at Food Network.  His was amazingly easy, and I have to say, delicious.  I don't know why I haven't been making homemade cocoa all my life.

The ingredients:

Powdered Sugar, Powdered Milk, Dutch-process Cocoa, and Corn Starch.

I just mixed them all up in a bowl:

Here's the corn starch.  I assume that makes the cocoa thick and creamy.

I love my pink salt because if you look closely you can even see it on white ingredients.

And it reminds you that there was indeed salt in there...

Mix well.  A whisk works pretty well.

A dash of cayenne spices things up without any real noticeable heat.  

 I rolled up a piece of parchment to make a funnel to fill my jars.

And that's it!  It couldn't be simpler.  But how does it taste?

Inquiring minds want to know.  Just fill up your cup with half of the mixture.  It seems like a lot, but remember there's a lot of powdered milk in there.

And add the same amount of hot water.

Stir and enjoy.  You'll never believe this isn't made with whole milk, it's so rich and creamy.

Alton Brown's Hot Cocoa

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.
Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.


You know what's great with hot cocoa?  Marshmallows. 

You know what's an incredibly cool gift?  Make a little package with your cocoa mix and homemade marshmallows. 

Don't know how to make homemade marshmallows?

Well, I'll tell you.

Later.

Heehee.

Playing,
Meredith