If you’re anything like us, the holiday season has gone by way too fast and has left you scrambling for last minute gifts for friends or coworkers. Our favorite, cost-saving solution is making your own gifts. Our go-to is putting together small baskets and this year we included a jar of homemade spicy hot chocolate mix and a fun holiday mug. What’s better than receiving a healthy, warming drink in these cold months and cute mug to drink it out of? You will impress your friends, family or coworkers with a homemade gift because they know it is made with love and you actually put thought into it. So ditch the generic gift card and try putting together our hot chocolate basket!
Like anything we create, our spicy hot chocolate mix is not only tasty, but it is filled with beneficial nutrients! The base of the mix is raw cacao powder, which is considered to be a superfood. Raw cacao is the purest form of chocolate and is different from cocoa and chocolate found in your grocer’s candy aisle. Cacao has 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries which gives it the ability to absorb free radicals that can cause cell and tissue damage, working as cancer prevention. With the high amount of magnesium found in cacao, it can help improve memory, boost cognitive function, and reduce heart disease. And what makes it especially great in the cold winter months is that it can improve your mood and act as an anti-depressant since it has four scientifically proven bliss chemicals: serotonin, dopamine, anandamide, and phenylethylamine,
The hot chocolate jars and gift basket are super easy to make and when making a few it becomes extremely cost-efficient. We went to Cost Plus World Market to purchase all of our supplies. They have everything from cute mugs and jars to crinkle cut paper and there is always some sort of sale going on.
When making the mix for the hot chocolate there are a couple things to note. First, the measurements of the mix will depend on the size of jar you use. Below we gave the measurements for one serving of hot chocolate, all you have to do is multiply it to fit your desired jar (it’s also very convenient if you’d like to have yourself a cup while you’re making the gifts). Second, the cayenne pepper is totally optional! If you know the recipient of the gift isn’t into to spicy food, leave it out and it will still taste amazing.
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(Hot) Hot Chocolate – the Perfect Last Minute Holiday Gift
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Recipe, Gifts
Description
Homemade Hot Chocolate that is actually healthy – it’s the perfect gift for your friends and family!
Ingredients
Supplies:
Airtight jars
Gift tags
Crinkle cut paper
Mug
Basket
Ribbon (optional)
Ingredients (1 Serving Size):
1 Tbsp. raw cacao powder
2 tsp. organic coconut sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Mini marshmallows
Instructions:
1.) In your desired jar, mix together the raw cacao powder, coconut sugar, vanilla bean powder, and cayenne pepper until it is 3/4 filled.
2.) Add mini marshmallows to fill the jar and seal it.
3.) On a gift tag write, “Add 1 Tbsp. to your favorite hot milk” and attach it to jar using ribbon.
4.) Fill bottom on the basket with crinkle cut paper, place hot chocolate jar and mug in the basket and gift away!
