Hot Cocoa Mix

Name: Hot Cocoa Mix
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 35
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups powdered nonfat milk; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 ¾ cups Dutch process cocoa powder (unsweetened); ½ cup mini marshmallow bits

Cozy evenings with the fireplace crackling aren’t complete without some of this quick and simple hot cocoa in your hand and a big jar of mix in your pantry for your kids to raid. It also makes an awesome gift!

Who doesn’t like a big steaming hot mug of hot chocolate? One of my big gripes with store bought hot cocoa mix is that the good mix usually comes individually packaged and I feel like by the time I make 4 cups of cocoa for my family I have a bunch of packets that are just going to go into a landfill. Making your own mix is more environmentally friendly and only takes 5 minutes and a few basic ingredients.

A wooden spoon scoops homemade hot cocoa mix from a jar, seen from above.

A glass jar filled with homemade hot chocolate mix and a wooden spoon.

picture of hot cocoa in a mug with marshmallows on a table with marshmallows and chocolate chips scattered around

Homemade hot cocoa mix in a glass bowl on a marble countertop.

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Homemade hot cocoa mix also makes a great gift this holiday season for your family and friends. Just fill some cute jars with cocoa mix, tie some red ribbon around them and you will have a meaningful, useful, and budget friendly gift this holiday season.

Hot Chocolate Mix Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

Powdered nonfat milk – you need milk in the mix to make it creamy and powdered milk works very well and stays good for a really long time. You can find powdered nonfat milk in the baking aisle of your grocery store. You will be combining the mix with warm milk when you make your hot cocoa so don’t worry about the milk fat content. See tip #2 below for more info.
Powdered sugar – the fine consistency of powdered sugar makes it ideal for this mix since it will dissolve quickly in water. See tip #1 below for information on how to adjust the sweetness.
Dutch process cocoa powder – Dutch process cocoa powder is unsweetened which is what we want for this recipe since there is already powdered sugar. If you do not have Dutch process cocoa powder, you can use unsweetened cocoa powder. I do not recommend using sweetened cocoa powder with this recipe because it will make your mix too sweet.
Mini marshmallow bits – mini marshmallows bits are smaller than mini marshmallows which makes them cute and dissolve quickly to add richness to the hot cocoa. If you can’t find mini marshmallow bits you can use 1 cup of mini marshmallows.

Steps to Make Cocoa Powder Mix

Once you have gathered the ingredients, use this method:

picture of hot cocoa mix ingredients on a table

Mix

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until they are completely combined and the marshmallows are distributed evenly. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Homemade hot cocoa mix in a jar with marshmallows.

Make Cocoa

When you are ready to make your hot cocoa, heat 1 cup of milk and add ½ cup of cocoa mix to make the perfect consistency. Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks to Perfect Hot Cocoa Mix

Sweeten to Taste. If you have people in your family who want their mix more or less sweet you can reduce the amount of powdered sugar (my half max) and let each person sweeten their own.

Customize the flavor. Add cinnamon, vanilla powder, espresso powder, or peppermint for variety.

Sift dry ingredients. Sifting cocoa powder and sugar helps prevent lumps in the finished mix.

Adjust the milk if you mix it with hot water. If you prefer to mix your cocoa mix with hot water instead of hot milk, be sure to use powdered whole milk (instead of nonfat) in the mix. It will still not be as rich but it will be much closer to a milk hot cocoa consistency and taste.

Blend out stubborn cocoa clumps. If cocoa won’t mix smoothly, briefly pulse the mix again before storing.

Dry Hot Cocoa FAQs

If you want a richer chocolate flavor I recommend you add a few semi-sweet chocolate chips to your mug before you add the hot milk and cocoa mix. They will melt in the hot milk and give a stronger chocolate flavor.

This mix will keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Unsweetened cocoa powder is best; Dutch-process cocoa will give a smoother, deeper chocolate flavor.

Absolutely—reduce or increase the sugar to match your personal taste.

Yes, simply skip powdered milk and prepare the drink with dairy-free milk like almond, oat, or coconut.

Definitely—it makes a great homemade gift when packaged in jars or bags with instructions attached.

Other Favorite Drinks

If you like this cocoa mix you will also like, Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe, Horchata Spiked Latte, White Cocoa Peppermint Latte, Iced Peppermint Chocolate Cookies, Easy Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins Recipe, The Best Homemade Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate.

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picture of homemade powdered hot cocoa mix in a jar

Hot Cocoa Mix