Hot Chocolate Balls

This is a Pinterest recipe that I couldn't pass up.  The original recipe is called Hot Chocolate on a Stick.  Mine didn't quite come out that way. 

2 lbs. melted chocolate (real chocolate with high content of cocoa butter)
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

I melted my chocolate in the microwave.  The recipe directions melt it over a double boiler.  (Might be one of my mistakes.)  Mix cocoa powder and powdered sugar into melted chocolate.   I used dark chocolate cocoa powder.  (Might have been another mistake.)  The original recipe had you pour the mixture into a zip lock bag with a small hole cut in the corner so you could squirt it into a mold or mini muffin tins.  Mine wasn't squirtable but thick.  This is what I ended up doing.  Using my hands I shaped 1" balls and rolled some of them in cinnamon sugar and some in peppermint sugar.  Some I left plain.  For appearance as well as use, I put each ball on a plastic form, wrapped it with plastic wrap and tied it with a pretty ribbon.  I think they turned out quite pretty.  To use you simply heat an 8 oz. cup of milk, crumble your Hot Chocolate Ball into your milk, stir and enjoy.  It really is quite good! 

These are good to add to gift baskets with a simple little card telling the user how to turn their Hot Chocolate Ball into the real thing.

Tervis Tumbler

After receiving my new Tervis tumbler I decided to come up with a drink that would be a hit for all ages.  I came up with the following recipe that I would like my readers help name.

1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Maxwell House International Coffee
marshmallows, optional


Mix all together until well blended.  Scoop 3 heaping spoons into a cup, or in my case my Tervis tumbler.  Add 1 cup of boiling hot water and stir well.  Add marshmallows and enjoy!  For a little extra flavor try adding chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, caramel chips, etc.


Comments - I've worked this up twice using 2 different flavors of coffee.  The first I used was Toasted Hazelnut.  The mix in today's picture is made with French Vanilla.  Now...with the holidays coming up, the flavored hot chocolate/coffee, spooned into a pretty container and a Tervis tumbler make beautiful Christmas gifts for teachers, aunts and co-workers.

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Hot Chocolate Pound Cake

This pound cake is made with hot chocolate mix for flavoring.  I came up with this idea when I found that I had hot white chocolate mix left over from Christmas.  I hate to throw things away so decided to give it a try in a pound cake.  It's great!  See the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet.