I’ve examined my life {scary} and when I think of being an expert on certain subjects, I could probably claim to be an expert on raising boys since I have four of them, but every day I’m left with the feeling that, yep, I have no idea what I’m doing. So scratch being an expert on that. I might be able to claim to be an expert on food, but that would only be because I like to eat it, considering the number of epic failures I have in the kitchen on a regular basis. So, again, definitely not a resident expert on food.

However, I can confidently say that I am definitely, certainly, 100% an expert on hot chocolate. I drink a mugful of the delicious drink every day, at least, and I am very, very particular about the kind that I like (has to be deep, dark chocolate, for one). I’ve tried making homemade hot chocolate mix several times but have been seriously underwhelmed.

Until now. I made this mix for teacher gifts this year (packaged in a Christmas-red mug with an instructional tag) and of course in the name of quality control, I had to sample the hot chocolate myself. It is incredible – really, incredible! Creamy, rich, and extremely delicious.

I can honestly say that this homemade mix is easily as good or better than the kind I buy for my own personal enjoyment. I think the secret is the addition of white chocolate, of which I’m not a huge fan on it’s own, because when finely ground with the other ingredients, it adds a fantastic creaminess to the hot chocolate.

A perfect gift for this season or simply for your own love of hot chocolate, this homemade mix recipe is definitely one to hang on to.

Ingredients

• 3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1½ cups cocoa powder, dutch-process or natural
• 1½ cups white chocolate chips or finely chopped white chocolate
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Working in two (or more) batches, depending on the size of your food processor, pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the chocolate is finely ground. Store the dry mix in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
2. To make hot cocoa, put 1/3 cup of the cocoa mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup of hot milk. Top with whipped cream or miniature marshmallows, if desired.

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Printed from Mel\'s Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)