Jars of Hot Cocoa Mix

Today I am thinking of making jars of hot cocoa mix with my daughter for her to give as gifts to her teacher, and the secretary at my work, and maybe other people who deserve to be remembered with something thoughtful. Our budget is Super tight this year so over the next few weeks I am going to come up with, and execute ideas that make lovely presents for everyone on my list for as little money as possible. Since presents that require less money, tend to take more time to make Sophia and Desi and I are going to be working on small projects after school and before dinner and on bigger projects on Saturday afternoons.



First up is my idea for acquaintances who need more than just a card. I love to bake, and my children love to get messy in the kitchen so I am keeping this part kitchen themed. I can picture beautiful little jars of hot cocoa mix with directions and pretty handmade labels and lots of festive ribbon. Tonight we are going to try out three recipes: Almond Dark Chocolate Cocoa, Chai Tea Milk Chocolate Cocoa, and Spicy Mexican Cocoa. I figure that having some different flavors will take some of the kitschy out of this gift and make it memorable. When searching for hot cocoa recipes on the internet i found a bunch of dried milk and cocoa powder and sugar or powdered sugar recipes. To me that sounds like the same stuff you get in a box at the store. So I am going to make hot cocoa mix with chocolate to be added to hot milk.
Here is my basic recipe:

1/4 pound of Bittersweet baking Chocolate (grated)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (milk or dark your choice)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup white sugar

for the Chai tea recipe I am going to add 1/8 cup of Chai Tea powder (I found this at my local east Indian market) and mix that with the sugar
for the almond I am going to add 1/2 cup of Dried Almond Milk (I found this at the health food store)
for the Spicy Mexican Recipe I am going to add 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

I wanted to layer these so they would look pretty in a jar, but I am thinking a nice mix will do better for preparing the hot cocoa. The directions will simply be to stir 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa mix into a glass of steaming hot milk. To heat milk can be done on the stove top on low heat so it doesn't scald or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

My daughter and I are going to make some of these up tonight and tomorrow I will post pics and reactions. If anyone wants to try out some of my recipes or suggest other delicious ideas I would love your comments.