This post may contain affiliate links, please see the privacy policy for details.
A homemade hot chocolate mix makes a wonderful gift. When the weather is chilly, everyone loves a mug of hot chocolate or hot cocoa, preferably with extras like mini marshmallows and a miniature bottle of something warming to make it extra-special! This homemade hot cocoa gift is so easy to make. You might like to make a batch of them for friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, or anyone you feel deserves a special treat this Christmas.
The hot chocolate mix recipe is easy and looks so pretty layered in jars. The miniature liquor bottle makes this thoughtful gift even more festive.
If you like making DIY gifts, some other ideas are citrus shower steamers, BBQ rubs, chocolate M&M popcorn jars and homemade bath bombs.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy: To make this homemade hot chocolate mix you simply need to layer the ingredients in a jar, tie on a label and a miniature bottle of liquor.
Festive: Hot chocolate is always good, but this extra-special homemade hot chocolate mix is fun and festive, and always nice to receive as a Christmas treat if you love hot chocolate.
Delicious: This is a rich-tasting hot chocolate mix recipe which the recipient can customize by including as many mini marshmallows as they like along with a small (or big!) splash of Fireball or Bailey’s!
Ingredients for Hot Chocolate Mix for Gifts
Unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed cocoa is always good), turbinado sugar, milk powder, dark chocolate chips or squares, and mini marshmallows go into the homemade hot chocolate mix, along with a miniature bottle of Fireball or Bailey’s (or whichever liquor you think the recipient might enjoy). You will also need a glass jar (here), some twine and a printer to print out the instructions label.
How to Make Your Own Hot Chocolate Gift Set
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Layer the ingredients: Layer each ingredient in the glass jar, starting with the cocoa powder and then adding the milk powder, sugar, mini chocolate chips or squares, and finally the mini marshmallows on top.
Shake it a little: Give the jar a little shake, just to even out the layers, not to mix them up.
Add the label and alcohol: Punch a hole in the printable tag then wrap twine around the jar, threading it through the gift tag and also securing the little bottle in place. Tie the twine in a neat bow to finish.
Substitutions and Variations
You can customize this hot cocoa homemade gift however you wish. Possible tweaks include swapping the dark chocolate chips for white chocolate chips or even something unusual such as peanut butter chips.
Turbinado sugar adds sweetness to the cocoa mix but you can sub white sugar or even artificial sweetener. If you don’t know the preference of whoever you’re making this for, you could have the sugar in a separate little baggie in the jar.
As for the liquor, anything goes, so consider anything from regular RumChata or peppermint RumChata to brandy, dark or spiced rum, or peppermint schnapps.
Add a couple of little candy canes if you want, or cinnamon sticks – you can tie these to the jar along with the little bottle and the tag.
How to Use the Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
The instructions are printed on the label, and this hot chocolate mix is so easy to use. You simply add the contents of the jar to a saucepan along with some water, and simmer gently until hot and well combined.
Mix in the alcohol, stir and serve hot, perhaps garnished with whipped cream. It’s a great beverage to serve with festive nibbles like fig Christmas cookies or Christmas tree pop tarts.
How to Store Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
Store: This should stay fresh for months if kept in the sealed jar or another airtight container in a dark, cool place.
Freeze: This isn’t something you can freeze.
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix FAQs
The recipe makes five servings of hot chocolate. If you’re making this gift for a single-person household or just for 1 or 2 people, you might like to halve the recipe and use an 8-ounce jar (here) (instead of a larger one) so they don’t have to make all 5 cups at once or try to divide every ingredient in the mixture into equal parts. Don’t be a Scrooge though – they should still get a full miniature of Fireball!!
Printers always seem to choose the worst times to refuse to print. If that happens, you can always hand-write the tags instead. They’d look just as charming that way, maybe more so!
Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
Boozy Hot Chocolate Gift Kit
Equipment
- Printable label
Ingredients
- ½ Cup cocoa powder
- ½ Cup turbinado sugar, Sugar in the Raw
- ¾ Cup milk powder
- 2 Squares dark chocolate
- Small bottle of Fireball or Bailey’s
- 1 Handful mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Layer the ingredients in the jar in the following order: cocoa powder, milk powder, sugar, chocolate square, mini marshmallows.
- Shake the jar slightly between layers to even out the ingredients.
- Cut about 18” of twine (or enough to wrap around the bottle twice with 8” extra.
- Cut out the printable label, and use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top.
- Wrap the twine around the jar just under the lid. Wrap it around the lid of the Fireball or Bailey’s once before attaching the label.
- Attach the label and tie a knot in the twine, then tie a bow to complete the jar.
Notes
- I used Fireball for this recipe, but Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur will also work well with the hot chocolate. Peppermint Schnapps, RumChata, or Peppermint RumChata would also add great variety to the flavor.
Nutrition
This homemade hot chocolate kit is a great project if you want to make something crafty without spending hours on it. Hot chocolate gift ideas are so popular and this is the perfect drink for Christmas since the hot cocoa mixture comes with its own little miniature bottle of liquor, meaning you can enjoy a tipple at the same time!
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
