Homemade Hot Chocolate and Easy Holiday Gift! Yummy!!

This time of year is perfect for so many things- time with family, staying in and cozying up with a movie, singing Christmas (or holiday) songs, AND enjoying the perfect cup of steaming hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and/or whipped cream! YUM

I started making my own hot chocolate and it is divine! Just the right amount of chocolaty goodness without being overly sweet and it definitely has a nice richness to it. Besides that, it is SUPER easy to make. I will give you my bulk recipe that I use. I make one huge amount, then distribute some to friends and family and keep the rest for our personal holiday enjoyment :-)  If this recipe is too large, just cut in half or even 1/4 and make the amount you need or want!

Cre8tiveKtina's Hot Chocolate- BULK Servings (100)

• 24 cups of Dry milk
• 13 cups of Baking coca
• 25 cups of Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Keep in mind you will need a VERY large container to mix all the ingredients for this amount... I used a large summer cooler haha  (I made sure it was impeccably clean, but needless to say, I had nothing else size-wise to hold this recipe).

Once the bulk amount is made, all you need is 2-3 tablespoons of the cocoa mix and add it to a cup with 1 cup of boiling hot water and you have an amazing cup of hot chocolate! 

This is a 2-quart container we kept for personal hot cocoa

You can always edit as necessary too. Like it sweeter? Add some more sugar. Need more chocolate? Add more cocoa. Not creamy enough? Add more dry milk. No matter what you preference is, you can adjust it and make it the best cocoa you have ever had! And you made it, so you can be proud of your dazzling creation and enjoy it's tastiness.

I made enough hot chocolate so that I could give out little holiday baskets to neighbors, family, and friends (The holiday baskets I make will be in another post see keep a lookout for that!). The holiday baskets will include nearly 1 cup of hot chocolate mix per basket. So I had broken down the amount of baskets I was making, how many servings I wanted per basket and then how many I would need total. When all was said and done and all the calculations were in, I needed to make 100 servings of hot chocolate.100 seems like a lot but this was enough for me to make enough servings for everyone I was giving it too as well as a good amount for my own family to sip on and enjoy during the holidays. 

*Keep in mind that this is how I made it, it's not exact and everyone has different tastes. Feel free to change it as you need so you and your family are happy with it. This is just how I make it and how my family and friends love to drink it!*

SPECIAL NOTE FOR PEPPERMINT COCOA* For anyone who likes peppermint hot chocolate, I also made a batch of that! To give your hot chocolate a peppermint twist, simply add a heaping 1/8 tsp. of finely crushed peppermint per serving. Truly delicious and so much more satisfying drinking a delicious cup of peppermint cocoa that YOU made :-)

Take the time to smell the chocolate and enjoy this warm, tasty treat! Perfect for the holidays or any season!