Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix
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Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix is an easy to make mix that’s great for gift giving, sharing with friends, or to keep in your cupboard for a sweet cup of cocoa all winter long!
I am a huge fan of homemade holiday gifts. They don’t usually cost a lot but the effort of making it, packaging it, and gifting it takes a lot of thought.
I’m also a fan of having mixes around the house. I make my own biscuit mix, pancake mix, and other mixes that I keep in the cupboard for when I need an easy meal and want to make it homemade.
In the winter I always make a big batch of my homemade marshmallows and then a jar of hot cocoa mix. Generally I just make regular hot cocoa. It’s so creamy and deeply chocolatey that it’s much better than the store bought packets and just as easy to use.
This year I wanted to make some flavored cocoa mixes that we could keep on hand at home and that I could give for gifts. Now that my son is in school I wanted to send a little something in to all of his teachers and I thought homemade cocoa mixes with homemade marshmallows would be a cute gift.
Ingredients:
- sugar
- vanilla
- cocoa powder
- sea salt
- dry milk powder
- brown sugar
To make this cocoa mix you need to make homemade caramel candy. This is a tricky step and you’ll need to have at least 15 minutes of hands on time where you don’t leave the stove. Caramel burns easily so you have to keep an eye on it during the cooking.
- In a medium saucepan heat the granulated sugar over medium heat without stirring. Once the sugar begins to melt, gently swirl it until it melts into deep amber color. This might take 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Pour the caramel onto the prepared cookie sheet and let it spread out.
- Once it’s cool and hardened, break it into chunks then process it in a food processor until it’s a fine powder. Add the cocoa
powder, sea salt, powdered milk, and brown sugar and process until smooth. - Store in an air tight container.
Because this mix is made with dry milk powder it can be mixed with milk or water and it will still be smooth and creamy. The caramel candy powder provides a deep caramel flavor and the salt brings out the flavor of both the caramel and the chocolate.
Do I have to make the caramel candy from scratch?
This is the best way to do it. It gives a richness you won’t find in store bought candy. If you really want to buy store bought caramels I recommend something that has a rich caramel flavor when you eat it and not something that tastes artificial. I actually found salted caramel bits that can be used for hot chocolate in the baking aisle near the holidays and they worked well in a pinch.
I can’t have milk. Is there a substitute for the dry milk powder?
You don’t have to add the milk powder but be aware that your cocoa will not be as creamy as it otherwise would be. It will still make a tasty cup of cocoa though.
This makes a lot of cocoa mix. Can I cut this recipe down?
I know you can cut it in half and it still tastes great. If you want to size it down even more I’d recommend a quarter of the recipe.
Do you have to add the salt? I’m on a low sodium diet.
Nope! That’s to make it a salted caramel hot chocolate. Leave out the salt and you have a simple caramel hot chocolate which still tastes great!
I mixed up a cup of this cocoa using milk and it was amazing! The cocoa was rich, smooth, and creamy. I could taste hints of caramel and salt. I ended up topping mine with whipped cream and caramel sauce and it was a decadent winter treat.
I put some of the mixes into half pint jars and tied ribbons and bells around them and gave them as holiday gifts along with a sticker with the directions on it. They were a huge hit and I can’t wait to make more hot cocoa mix in the future.
More Hot Chocolate Recipes:
- Bailey’s Hot Chocolate
- Hot Chocolate Bombs
- S’mores Hot Chocolate
- Spiked Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate
- Orange Spiced Hot Cocoa
If you’ve tried my Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:
Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients
- For the Hot Cocoa Mix:
- 2 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 c. cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
- 1 c. dry milk powder
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- To Make the Cocoa:
- 1 c. milk or water
- 2-3 Tablespoons hot cocoa mix
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan heat the granulated sugar over medium heat without stirring. Once the sugar begins to melt, gently swirl it until it melts into deep amber color. This might take 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Pour the caramel onto the prepared cookie sheet and let it spread out. Allow to cool for 1 hour.
- Once it’s cool and hardened, break it into chunks then process it in a food processor until it turns into a fine powder.
- Add the cocoa powder, sea salt, powdered milk, and brown sugar and process until smooth.
- Store in an air tight container.
- To make the cocoa heat up a mug of water or milk. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Top with marshmallows if desired.
Notes
