Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

I wanted to include something in my Christmas goodie baskets that would warm my family up. What else does the trick better than a nice warm cup of hot chocolate? I made this recipe that I found on The Confections of a Foodie Bride blog. This recipe makes a ton of hot chocolate mix, so if you're just making this for yourself, you could easily cut the recipe in half and have enough to last you for a long time. The original recipe called for 2 things that I couldn't find, vanilla beans and dutch process cocoa powder, so I improvised and used plain Hershey brand cocoa and left out the vanilla entirely. The hot chocolate still turned out delicious! This recipe is so easy to make, it'll knock your socks off!

Ingredients

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 24 oz high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 9 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups cocoa powder

1. In a blender or food processor with a metal blade, process both chocolates until finely ground using short pulses (3-4 seconds). I did mine in batches in the blender and one thing I noticed is that i needed to let the blender blades cool down after each batch otherwise the heat from the blade would melt the chocolate. Just something to keep in mind.

2. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar in a large blow. There can be unmixed cocoa or sugar at the bottom of the bowl so be sure to combine completely.

That's it! So simple yet so delectable. This mix can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months. I divided it into 9 1 cup services in cellophane bags. I included a tag on each bag that instructed the recipient to make mix 2 tablespoons of mix in with 8 ounces of hot milk. You could top this with whipped cream if you're feeling extra jazzy. I liked to mix a sprinkle of cinnamon in mine.