Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Hot Cocoa {on a stick}

This hot cocoa is a wonderful treat and makes a great gift for friends this Christmas season. 

Even by itself, the cocoa on a stick is tasty to eat as a fudge.  Shhh… don’t tell; I snitched a bite.

Hot Cocoa on a Stick – Adapted from Megan & WhipperBerry

Ingredients

  • 1/4 C heavy whipping cream {slightly overflowing}
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 C dark chocolate chips
  • splash of vanilla

Directions

In a saucepan, combine 1/4 C whipping cream with 1 can sweetened condensed milk.   

Stir and warm this mixture over medium-low heat.  Do not allow it to boil, just warm throughout.

When warmed, remove from the burner and add in the chocolate chips.

Stir often as the heat from the milk mixture melts the chocolate chips. 

Add in a splash of vanilla. 

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper or tinfoil.

Allow the fudge to cool to room temperature and remain on the counter for 12-24 hours.

 

Remove the fudge block from the pan and place onto a cutting board.  Cut into cubes about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 inch in width. 

Place a candy stick into each fudge block (peppermint sticks would work and be fun too!). 

Wrap for cute gifts, or store the blocks in an airtight container with parchment paper separating the layers. 

For short-term storage, keep these at room temperature for 1-2 days.  After that, store in the fridge for up to 10 days, or the freezer for 30-40 days.

To serve, plop one cube into a piping hot glass of milk (8oz), swirl to melt and enjoy!

For those of you interested, the printables came from A Pair of Pears.  Enjoy!

18 comments:

  1. All I can say is "YUM!!!" Wow, that looks delicious! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE this! It's a fun twist on the traditional hot chocolate mix gift. I think I am going to do this for teacher gifts with the peppermint sticks! Thanks for the fun and easy idea!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a super cute idea - I love the idea of a peppermint stick too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Replies
    1. I sure can -- they came from:

      http://www.apairofpears.com/2011/12/hot-chocolate-party-printables.html

      Delete
  5. This is SUCH a cute idea!!! You've given me some ideas for our neighbor gifts this year. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is great going to add this to my gift making list along with your mother amaretto fudge.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea!!! Do you think it can be frozen? I have a child with food allergies and would love to have them of standby:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would think so! The base is just like a rich fudge, and we freeze fudge all the time.

      Delete
  8. I just made this....I don't know if i will be giving it away or not. It's SO GOOD!! I've scraped the bowl clean :-) Thanks for an easy, yet delicious recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pretty tasty, huh? I'm loving the fudge blocks even absent that cup of milk :)

      Delete
  9. Thank you! Yum, yum, yum! It made a perfect last-minute teacher gift and pairs wonderfully with homemade peppermint marshmallows.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks great! I was planning on making these up ahead and freezing them. I was going to use peppermint sticks- any problem freezing the peppermints sticks or should I put them in after thawing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have frozen candy canes before (in ice cream) and they do get a little "melty"/slimy when they thaw; I'd recommend adding them after thawing.

      Delete
    2. Ok, thanks so much for this tip! Can't wait to try this!

      Delete
  11. Have you tried putting the super mini mallows used in coco packs? I bought a container of them and was thinking if I added a layer on top of the fudge what it would do..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. no, I haven't tried that! What a fun idea. I bet you could add it to the top without a problem. We usually serve it with marshmallow stir sticks, so that would save a step.

      Delete

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.