Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Few things are as perfectly cozy as a cup of hot cocoa in the wintertime. And while I love the convenience of hot cocoa mix, the kind you buy in the store leaves something to be desired. Enter my homemade hot cocoa mix! This DIY hot cocoa mix makes a creamy and rich hot chocolate, especially when mixed with milk. I make mine with two kinds of cocoa powder and a special secret ingredient for super chocolatey cocoa that isn’t sickly sweet. 

Homemade cocoa mix is great to have on hand all winter long, and it also makes for wonderful gifts! I’ve designed simple homemade hot chocolate mix gift tags with directions that you can view and download. The link is included in the Recipe Tips section of this post!

Homemade cocoa is a wonderful treat all on its own, but it’s even better when paired with homemade cookies! Hot chocolate cookies are a natural pairing if you can’t get enough of hot chocolate. During the holiday season, I love to serve hot cocoa with gingerbread and sugar cookies. For another warming drink option that is dairy-free, try homemade Wassail!

Why This Recipe Works

• Best homemade hot chocolate mix. There are a ton of recipes for homemade hot cocoa mix. So why is this recipe for hot cocoa mix the best? I find that using two types of cocoa powder makes this cocoa extra chocolatey, which is a win in my book. Plus, the secret ingredient helps make it super tasty. 
• Easy homemade hot cocoa. Once you’ve made your own homemade hot cocoa mix with just a few simple ingredients, you’ll never go back! This is easy recipe makes it so you can always have homemade hot cocoa on hand. No need to stir ingredients together on a stove for 15 minutes. Just warm up water or milk, add your mix and enjoy. 
• Perfect for gifts. I LOVE making homemade hot cocoa mix for Christmas gifts! It’s quick and easy to make, it makes a decently big batch, it lasts for up to 3 months, and who doesn’t love a homemade gift?

Ingredient Notes

• Powdered milk: This is what helps dry cocoa mix turn into something creamy and drinkable. I use whole milk powder, but you can use nonfat dry milk powder. Since the dry mix contains powdered milk, you can just add it to water. However, I do like to add mine to warmed milk for an even creamier cup of cocoa. 
• Powdered sugar: To sweeten the cocoa mix. Powdered sugar will dissolve more readily in warm water or milk than granulated sugar. 
• Dutch process cocoa powder: I love Dutch process cocoa powder because it has a deeper, richer chocolate flavor than regular unsweetened cocoa powder. If you don’t have it on hand or can’t find it in stores (just a heads up, it may be labeled “dark” cocoa powder), you can just use unsweetened cocoa powder. 
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: The classic cocoa powder most of us have in our pantries. I like to use two kinds of cocoa powder because I feel like it really adds “oomph” to the chocolate flavor.
• White chocolate: Here it is, my secret ingredient for the BEST homemade cocoa mix! White chocolate technically adds a third layer of chocolate flavor for the best hot chocolate. You MUST use a bar of white chocolate though. No chocolate chips, almond bark, or candy melts!

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add ingredients to a food processor. To the bowl of a food processor, add 3 cups of powdered milk, 2½ cups of powdered sugar, ¾ cup of Dutch process cocoa, ¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa, 8 oz of white chocolate broken into chunks, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. 
2. Mix until blended. Mix all the ingredients together until the white chocolate is finely chopped and the mixture is homogenous. If you have a small food processor, or if you don’t have a food processor and are using a blender, you may need to work in batches. 
3. Store mix. Pour the homemade hot cocoa mix into an airtight container. Mason jars work great for this. Store it at room temperature for 3-4 weeks. If you wish to give this hot chocolate mix as a gift, print out Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix Tags and attach them to your container(s).
4. Enjoy. To make yourself a mug of cocoa, add ⅓ cup of hot chocolate mix to 1 cup of warm milk or water and stir until dissolved.

Recipe Tips

If you don’t have a food processor, you can make this in a blender! You’ll have to work in small batches. 

You can use all unsweetened cocoa for this mix if you don’t have or can’t find Dutch process cocoa. 

Do not use white chocolate chips for this! Chocolate chips do not blend as easily in the food processor and it will be more difficult to get a homogenous mix. I also advise against using almond bark or candy melts. White chocolate bars broken into chunks will blend better. I like Lindt and Ghiradelli brands.

Love peppermint in your hot chocolate? I think you could give this hot cocoa mix a peppermint twist by throwing in some candy canes to be crushed along with the other ingredients. This may make the cocoa too sweet, however, so you may wish to reduce the amount of powdered sugar in the recipe if you want to add peppermint candies. 

Turn this hot chocolate mix into a homemade holiday gift by putting it in mason jars and attaching my Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix tags that include directions for how to use the mix!

You can warm up milk in the microwave, but be aware that milk is one of those liquids that likes to boil over when it gets too hot!

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Make Ahead: This mix is made to be stored and lasts for close to a month, so it can be made ahead for many occasions!

Storing: Store homemade hot chocolate mix in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 weeks.

Freezing: This mix can be frozen for 3 months! If you freeze it, it may take longer to dissolve when added to warm water or milk but I have not tested this.

Recipe FAQs

More Easy Holiday Recipes

• Candy Cane Popcorn
• Christmas Oreos
• Gingerbread Syrup
• Christmas Pretzel Hugs
• Peppermint Bark Brownies