Monday, December 5, 2011

Hot Chocolate On a Stick~A DYI Gift!

This was a big hit last year and makes perfect DIY Christmas gifts!




I recently happened upon a blog called The Givers Log, and I loved the recipe Amber had posted about Hot Chocolate on a Stick.

I am a serious chocolate lover, but Amber REALLY knows chocolate!

I tried the recipe she posted and I am happy to get to share it with you today.  This makes a sweet little gift!

The recipe is this:
8 oz. chocolate (see note above), bittersweet, semisweet, milk, and white chocolate all work
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
pinch of salt <--- I forgot to add this but I did add about 1 tsp of instant coffee  1 bag of wooded Popsicle sticks (got mine at the Dollar Tree) But after researching I have seen plastic spoons used also.     I did not sift my cocoa or confectioner's sugar, I just loosely measured it and did not pack it down.      I had everything all ready and set out like I was on a TV show.  Because I did not want to let my chocolate burn or cool.      
So in a bowl I put my cocoa, confectioners sugar, instant coffee and I should of put the pinch of salt in there but I forgot.

Before you continue you might want to take a look at Amber's detailed instructions because she can really explain the details.   My directions below are much more simple.


You will need to have good chocolate, Popsicle sticks and a ice cube tray

I broke up the chocolate into little pieces and placed them in my double boiler.  I let my water come to a boil, then turned it down to low.  Then I placed my pan/bowl on top of the heated water pan.

It is really, no REALLY important to not let any water get in your chocolate.

It is really, no REALLY important to not put any alcohol in your chocolate too, so no vanilla extract people.

Amber's instructions will tell you more about that.

Here is where you have to be careful and not to over heat your chocolate.  Stir while it is melting and use a thermometer to ensure your chocolate stays between 80 and 90 degrees.

There are still a few chunks of chocolate in my pot that has not quite melted yet but I pulled it off the heat so it would sure not over heat.  The rest melted on its own in a few seconds and then mix in all of your dry ingredients until they are completely mixed in.

Here is where Amber's Recipe advises you to put the chocolate into a baggie and cut the corner out of it to make it like a pastry bag.  I did that and next time I won't.  Because I felt like I lost a whole cube of chocolate on the sides of the baggie.
But put your chocolate in the ice cube tray and tap the tray on the counter gently to settle it all down flat.

Now see how the chocolate is kinda running into that little notch on my tray...that means Terre <-- that's me, filled it too full!   I didn't notice until I popped them out of the tray and they had this little notch on the side.  But it snipped off really easy with scissors.    Oh back to the recipe:  If while you are piping the chocolate gets too cold to come out of the bag just pop it in the microwave to warm it up loose enough again.    Then stick your sticks in but only half way, you don't want you sticks poking out the other end!   The sticks will stand on their own.  
Then walk carefully and hold the tray straight the whole way to the fridge or else you will have to reposition the sticks once you put them in the fridge again!

In about an hour you can pop those suckers out of the tray, and melt a few cubes of white chocolate and dip them in side ways so you get that half white half dark chocolate then set them down dark side down on wax paper until they cool.

Once you are done and you have licked spoons and fingers through out the entire process the only logical next step is to make a cup hot cocoa!

I just heated 2/3 cup of milk and the rest water then I stuck in the Hot Chocolate on a stick and stir...

This little bit of chocolate on the stick is just excess in my book, and you might as well pop that right into your mouth!  It is perfect for chocolate lovers!

It was tasty!   I am so pleased with this idea, I am going to make a few more chocolaty items like chocolate chip cookies, fudge, maybe some chocolate dipped biscotti and then add a couple of these Hot Cocoa Sticks and then I will end up with a chocolate basket of goodies for someones's present!

Oh go over to Amber's Blog here and you will see other ways to dip and do it!


1 comment:

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