Tuesday, December 20, 2011

To grandmother's house we go.... weee

I LOVE Christmas & all the maddening madness (wait that's sort of redundant--oh well, that's exactly what it is)! Speaking of Christmas, I've been singing that song "Over the river and through the woods" all day... Anyway, I digress,as, if you read my blog very often, you know I tend to do. A LOT.

BACK TO SUBJECT: 
One of my favorite things to give at Christmas is my momma's recipe for homemade hot chocolate.  Once you drink this, you'll never, ever want to drink the boxed kind again! I'm not much of a "generic" brand purchaser.   Sometimes you DO get what you pay for.  That being said, the great thing about this recipe is that you CAN purchase off-brand ingredients because once it's all mixed together you can never taste the difference!   

Here's the recipe.  NOTE: I usually double the recipe per batch.  (My 3 sons used to drink this stuff up by the gallon... oh wait, they drank up EVERYTHING by the gallon):

INGREDIENTS:
  • 24 oz box dry powdered milk  (I buy a HUGE box as Sam's each year & it makes several batches)
  • 1 c. non-dairy creamer (I've never tried a flavored one, but it probably is good)
  • 2 c. powdered sugar
  • 16 oz. instant chocolate drink mix (I've used both Nestle Quik & off brand..can't taste the difference!)
  • mini choc chips, mini marshmallows (as desired to top)

DIRECTIONS to make dried mix:
Mix all ingredients in a VERY LARGE container with a tight-fitting lid & shake, shake, shake. Let the "chocodust" settle before opening. Then scoop into jars or ziploc bags. 

Just add about 3 TB of dry mix with cup of HOT WATER...and of course a giant splash of Bailey's or your favorite adult beverage is optional! 

Keep it sealed & it'll last all winter!  (too bad our Louisiana winters only last about 10 minutes..but I can cut the air conditioner down to 60 and drink away!)

Here's how I packaged some for gifts this year in small mason jars. Layered it with mini choco chips & mini marshmallows so that you can see it through the glass...kind cool.



I cut out circles from burlap ribbon and lined the mason jar lids with it.



Stamped some brown paper for tags with my favorite design...a fleur de lis:


Tied tags with a little twine & voila!  Gifts for folks at my hubby's office!






Be seeing ya!

Cindy

1 comment:

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