homemade peppermint hot choc

My inner Grinch is gradually reawakening. It poked me in the eye earlier today and whispered obscenities in my ear. Christmas shopping is a painful experience. I must have seen more than 100 souls dragging slaughtered fir trees around the nursery this morning. Lumberjacks in disguise, all wearing faces as taut as granny’s curls. Tis’ the season to be jolly. Please pass the mulled wine?

I digress. I’d like to share this gorgeous peppermint hot chocolate recipe with you. We’ll be making several jars of these for teachers’ gifts this year. What I love about this is that it’s a handmade gift. Nothing beats that, don’t you think?

It takes about 20 minutes to layer the ingredients. I haven’t given precise measurements as you’ll need to decide amounts according to the size of your jar. Each ingredient is layered, here’s what you need:

* Soft brown sugar, about a quarter of a cup (for a standard size jar)
* A dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
* Chocolate chips, dark and milk chocolate, about half a cup
* Good quality cocoa powder, about a third of a cup
* Good quality hot chocolate power, about a third of a cup
* Mini marshmallows, quarter of a cup
* A couple of peppermint candy canes, crushed

Start by mixing the sugar and spices and then carefully pour it into a clean glass jar. Make sure it’s level and then pour in a layer of dark and then milk chocolate chips. Keep it level. Mix the cocoa and hot chocolate powders and then slowly pour into the jar. Add the marshmallows and then top up with the crushed peppermint candy canes. Leave a little space at the top… but don’t shake the jar if you’re giving it as a gift!

To make this delicious drink the jar will need a good shake, then add two heaped tablespoons of the mixture into hot milk. You can write this out on a tag and tie it around the top of the jar with a ribbon and garden twine – or even butchers’ twine.

Enjoy!

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