Milk chocolate, white chocolate and Dutch cocoa come together in this classic and decadent hot chocolate mix perfect for every day drinking and gifts. Best of all? You can make an entire batch of mix in six minutes!
To say I am a hot chocolate fiend may be understating things. To me, a comforting cup of very chocolaty hot chocolate will cure most of life’s problems, warm you up on a cold night, make a camping trip perfect, and start your morning off just right.
Here in Idaho we have had an extended mild fall but now the hard bite of winter is closing in and I’m making cup after cup of hot chocolate. I was always curious but a bit distrustful of making up a homemade mix. Hot Chocolate needs to be perfect and no recipe I ever saw made me think “YUM.” After hearing a few people I trusted talk about a mix they had made and loved I got curious. Could it be done?
After some extensive experimenting, covering my entire kitchen in chocolate and drinking my way through more mugs of cocoa than I want to admit, I have a true winner! Jonathan even got excited and lent a hand though I must say I have asked him to stop following me around at bedtime with test batches. He really loves the challenge of a good recipe experiment!
In the end we discovered several “secrets” of great hot chocolate.
- You need a mix of milk chocolate and white chocolate. It gives you the perfect flavor balance and adds to the creaminess.
- Using a higher end Dutch Process cocoa makes a big difference. Cheaper cocoa powders don’t have the same deep chocolate flavor.
- Corn starch – sounds weird, but it makes the hot chocolate creamier. “Mouth Feel” is an important thing in food.
- Salt. My friend Katie teases me that I physically can’t make a food without adding salt. She is only 98% correct. Seasoning foods matters – even sweet ones. A small addition of high quality sea salt brings out the beautiful flavors of your chocolate and perfects the drink.
Isn’t life fun? Who knew a simple hot chocolate mix could have such fun little cooking lessons tucked into it? Now that I have an amazing and perfect jar of this epic stuff I’m going to package some up for Christmas gifts. After all, ’tis the season!
Tools In This Post: If you are a chocolate nut the quality of cocoa powder you use in this recipe will determine your results. Your four year old probably won’t catch it but when I made batches side by side I found that using a quality Dutch Process cocoa was the deal breaker for great cocoa. I picked mine up at Costco. You can also find it on Amazon if your store does not carry it.
Triple Chocolate Hot Chocolate Mix
Ingredients
- 8 oz milk chocolate bar I used the Belgian Milk Chocolate from Trader Joe’s
- 4 oz white chocolate bar I used Baker’s White Chocolate
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; Dutch Processed is the best choice for chocolate flavor
- 2 ½ cups nonfat dry milk powder
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. sea salt
Instructions
- Using a food processor or box grater grate both types of chocolate.
- Dump the chocolate into a one gallon Ziploc bag along with the rest of the ingredients. Seal the bag and shake well to combine.
- Store in an airtight jar for up to a year.
- To make a cup of cocoa measure 8oz of hot water or milk into a mug. Stir in ¼ cup to ½ cup of mix until dissolved. Add a splash or two of cream or half and half for richer cocoa.
- Enjoy with whipped cream or marshmallows as desired.
Judy
So sorry about your dad, I lost mine in ’98 and still have moments that have me in tears. I buried my mom in 2008 but lost her shortly after my dad died. (dementia) I still eat fresh cherries for her and my dad every year. The craziest memories are the ones that have me laughing out loud!!
Minje
Hi!
Your hot cocoa mix is very, very delicious! Especially with a splash of half and half 😀
But I can’t seem to get the creamy light brown color that is shown in the first picture.
How did you get your hot chocolate to be that color?
My hot chocolate turned out very dark (almost black) in color..
Mirlandra
I’m glad it tasted good but it is always frustrating when something does like look like you expect. It might have to do with how much mix you are putting in the milk or the kind of cocoa you are using in the mix? I used a kind of cocoa that I found at Costco – I have forgotten the name at this moment and sadly I think I tossed the package. I might have it at home but I’m in New Orleans right now so I can’t look. I hope that helps! Happy sipping 🙂
Barbara
Love the taste but had a terrible time turning the chocolate into a powder consistency. No matter what speed and pulse I used it either melted or just didn’t get fine. Grating would have been too hard; I tried it for a bit. Nevertheless I’ve given the end result out as Christmas presents and enjoyed quite a few cups with a shot of Rum Chata. Ahhhhh
Mirlandra
Oh goodness – that would be frustrating! They type of chocolate or blender might have had something to do with it. I replaced my food processor a few months ago and recipes that worked SO well before now don’t work at all with the new machine. I was going to give in and return it but then it just flat out broke! I’m glad your final result was good at least! Merry Christmas 🙂