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These mugs may just be the very best gift you can give this Christmas.
What they hold and what they symbolize (warm and cozy) just say “Merry Christmas”…and that you actually spent some time (but not hours!) and put thought into the gift.
I just feel like everyone can really get excited about a good, creamy, chocolatey cup of hot chocolate. Especially if it is snowing and freezing cold out.
I know you are probably thinking making homemade marshmallows must be hard, but honestly it took me fifteen minutes of prep time and twelve of those minutes the mixer did all the work.
I promise they are really easy and worth it. Not only for their awesome taste, but you also get to cut them into adorable little holiday shapes. They turn out so cute!
And the cocoa mix?
Well, first of all it is the best cocoa mix you will ever come across. It is universally loved by everyone. Adults, kids, girls, guys… everyone. It is really just perfect and I pretty much never say anything is perfect. I am usually one of those people who think most things can always use a little improvement, but not this.
The cocoa mix is a mix of milk chocolate, dutch cocoa powder and white chocolate. The white chocolate is the secret. There is only a little, but it adds such a nice touch of sweetness and flavor.
Oh, and my other secret?
Roasted vanilla beans. They are amazing and I will be telling you all about them soon. If you don’t have vanilla beans and do not want to spend the money on them you can skip this step, but you guys it is worth it! Just splurge and do it!
Once you have everything together all you have to do is assemble the mugs.
Oh, and I even made some cute recipe printables for you to hang off the side of the mugs. You can find them here or make your own design here or I am sure you can probably find others online too. This is just what popped up when I googled it.
And I will not blame you if you make the mugs and end up deciding they are too cute and too good-looking to give away.
In that case, light a candle, start a fire, put on some Christmas music and enjoy your cozy, creamy hot cocoa.
Homemade Holiday Gifts: Easy Double Chocolate Vanilla Bean Hot Cocoa Mugs + Marshmallows
Servings: 4 Mugs
Calories Per Serving: 1751 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Vanilla Marshmallows
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup cold milk
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 whole vanilla bean spit half and seeds scraped out (optional)
Double Chocolate Roasted Vanilla Bean Hot Cocoa Mix
- 2 whole vanilla beans
- 3 cups non-fat dry milk
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 cups dutch processed cocoa (or regular cocoa but I really like dutch for this)
- 1 2/3 cups Milk Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee
To assemble
- 3-4 mugs
- clear plastic cookie bags
- Holiday ribbon
- Candy canes or red and white striped straws
Instructions
- To make the marshmallows. Lightly spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and let stand for 10 minutes. In the meantime place a medium saucepan on the stove. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup cold milk. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into the gelatin mixture. Add salt, vanilla and vanilla bean seeds. Turn the mixer onto medium speed and gradually increase the speed to the highest setting and whip for 12 minutes.
- Spray a rubber spatula. Spread marshmallows evenly into pan using prepared spatula. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.
- Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed sharp knife or use mini holiday cookie cutters to cut them into fun holiday shapes. Place powdered sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat. Store the marshmallows in an airtight container.
- To make the cocoa mix. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the vanilla beans directly on the grates of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. This step is optional, but it really adds amazing vanilla flavor.
- Remove the beans from the oven and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Puree for 2 to 3 minutes, until most of the bean has been broken up. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard any big pieces and place the vanilla powder back in the bowl of the food processor.
- Combine all of the remaining hot cocoa ingredients in a large bowl. Work in two batches, pour half the ingredients from the bowl into the food processor and pulse until the hot chocolate is finely ground. Repeat for second batch.
- To assemble the mugs. Place the bags inside your mugs and spoon the hot cocoa powder into the clear plastic bags. You should have 3 cups total of mix. I mad three mugs with 1 cup of hot cocoa mix in each mug.
- Add the marshmallows right on top of the hot cocoa. I added 1 big handful of marshmallows to each mug. Tie the holiday ribbon around the top to close the bags. Now grab your candy canes or striped straws and stick them right down the center of you mugs (through the center of the marshmallows and cocoa).
- Punch a whole through your recipe cards and slide a piece of ribbon through the hole. Attach the ribbon somewhere on the mug. And start handing out cute little gifts of Christmas warmth and happiness!
Notes
Marshmallows adapted from [Martha | http://www.marthastewart.com/341856/vanilla-marshmallows]
Oh, and do not forget to add the marshmallows and whipped cream.
Hello! I was wondering if you had any idea how long the marshmallows would last for? I’m looking to give these out to coworkers and want to be able to tell them how long they have before they need to drink it. Can’t wait to make them!! 🙂
Hey Amanda!! They last at least 6 months. Let me know if you have questions. Hope everyone loves these! happy Holidays! 🙂
Can I replace the gelatin for a vegetarian option? Which one would be best? Agar agar is ok?
HI Lina, I am sorry I have never tried agra agra, so I really cannot say. Sorry I could not help more.
They are wholesome dishes your kid will surely get pleasure from.
Simply open a box of baking soda and set the open box
on the middle rack in your oven. In our test kitchen, we
have experimented extensively with cheesecakes.
Very nice post. I certainly love this site. Stick with it!
Thank you so much, Daniel!
I just made these for my office holiday party and they were a hit! I even had enough mix and marshmallow bits to make myself a cup! I am going to make another batch for my family next. I thought I would offer some tips for anyone who wants to make these great gifts in the future:
(1) Prepare your whole work station before you begin; I spent a few minutes looking for my vanilla beans and almost burnt the sugar!
(2) Speaking of burnt sugar, a candy thermometer comes in handy for making marshmallows. The temp should reach 240 degrees when the sugar/corn syrup mix is ready to be added to the gelatin. However, I found I had no problems following the “Half Baked Harvest” recipe.
(3) Wait and add the vanilla extract and beans until 1 MINUTE BEFORE removing the marshmallow mix from the bowl. I added my vanilla too soon and as a result did not have that “hint” of vanilla I was hoping for (they were still good; tasted like regular marshmallows). Doing it again, I would be sure to wait until the last minute before adding the flavoring to ensure it lasts.
(4) If you are making marshmallows for a large group of people, you will yield more marshmallows by cutting out plain, square shapes instead of using the cookie cutters. That being said, with the cookie cutters I still had plenty ‘shmallows to spare, and cut the remaining marshmallow (what was left once the cookie cutters did their job) and cut little, imperfect, “mini marshmallows.” I kept them in an airtight container and keep snacking on them! (yum)
(5) for the mugs: I found a lot of great mugs on the Crate and Barrel website! In their “Outlet” section you can find great deals on both holiday, and plain, mugs. Plus, they often have special deals like free shipping!
(6) If you are worried about not having enough time to make these all in one sitting, I recommend making the hot cocoa mix ahead of time. In this first batch, I made the marshmallows, knowing they had to set, and then started the cocoa mix. Looking back, I would not have been in such a rush to package the gift (or to get cocoa mix all over the counter) if I had made the mix a day or two beforehand.
(7) If you wanted to add an extra touch, you can also spread cool whip on a cooking sheet, freeze, and cut out shapes using your holiday cookie cutters! Then your dollop of whipped cream will match your festive marshmallows!
All-in-all this was a fun project and a well received gift After trying it, I cannot wait to try it again. After taste-testing the hot cocoa, I can say that it is very rich–if anyone has ever had gourmet or starbucks “double hot chocolate” you know what I mean–the flavors are all present, velvety, and very chocolate-y. I love it! It would also pare well with peppermint or cinnamon, or just plain ole whipped cream and marshmallows! I would recommend this recipe to my friends, if I didn’t want to keep it a secret!
Exactly the type of homemade gift I was looking for! Love your ideas! Do you know how long the mix’s shelf life is once it’s made?
Thanks Katie!! At least six months. I have had mine on the shelf for longer though. Hope you love this, it’s my favorite mix!
I can’t wait to make the mix. I’ve been making marshmallows for years. They make everything better! Since the recipe card isn’t available any more, what are the directions for making the mix not cocoa?
Thanks!
Thanks Andrea!!
For every 1 cup of hot milk add 1/3 cup cocoa powder or more to your taste. Hope you love this!
This looks amazing and I’m making these tonight for my kids teachers as Christmas gifts but I tried to print the recipe card but it was an empty link. Could you please send it to me? I hope you get this in time. Thanks 🙂
Oh no! Sorry Jo-Anne! I have no idea what is going on with that link, but unfortunately I do not have access to the cards anymore. SO SORRY!! You can make you own on this site though. Here is the link.
Hope you love these!!
This looks SO good. I have planned on doing something like this for years but with this recipe I may actually do this thiss week for my husbands christmas party. I have been intimidated to make my own marshmallows but it doesn’t look too bad.. We will give it a shot! SO EXCITED to try this!
Thank you, Sarah! Hope you love them!
I’ve been searching for a great hot cocoa mix and marshmallow recipe. This one sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to give it a try and then make it for my son’s preschool teachers as Christmas gifts!
Thanks Megan! Hope these are a hit!
OMG this is the CUTEST THING EVER. I’m so making it in a couple of days. I’m so blessed! I didn’t know you could make marshmallows so easily!!! We don’t have those in every supermarket here, unfortunately 🙁 So, thanks a lot!! <3
What a fun and totally practical gift. Mine would be gone in no time flat!
Thanks Brenda! They are so fun and cute! People are loving them!
Vanilla bean marshmallows? Secret white chocolate cocoa? Obsessed, Tieghan! This is definitely something I could have used to sip on while I was shopping all day last Friday! And it is totally the perfect holiday gift. Buy some cheap mugs at the dollar store and whip up a giant batch of those heavenly looking mallows. LOVE the fact that you can see those glorious specks of bean magic! 😉 and roasted vanilla beans? You HAVE my attention!
Thank you, Hayley! Wish I could send you a mug!
Can the instant coffee be omitted in the recipe? Thanks.
Hey Maria! Yes, the coffee can be left out. Hope you these turn out great for you!
Tieghan, these are so stinking cute! I want to make like 50 ASAP! 🙂
Thanks Erin! I loved the way they turned out!