This is, hands down, the best hot cocoa I've ever tasted. My husband agrees. It's rich and creamy and oh so comforting on a cold day. It's also pretty damned good eaten right off the spoon, if you can't wait for the milk to warm.
I found the spoons at
thinkgarnish.com which is fast becoming my second favorite website; they have everything and anything you need for food packaging!
Stamp a sentiment or small decorative design on the top of your wooden spoon or popsicle stick. Don't stamp too far down the spoon, as you don't really want the ink to touch the milk when it's in there.
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups chocolate chips (I use a mixture of milk chocolate and semi sweet)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine the heavy cream and condensed milk in a small heavy saucepan and heat on medium until steamy. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, allow them to sit and melt for 10 minutes. Stir to mix, return to heat on low and whisk until smooth and shiny.
Pour into either, small plastic souffle cups (we call them jello shot cups) or into a 9x9 pan that's been fitted with parchment or wax paper. Wait about 5-10 minutes for the chocolate to somewhat set and add your spoon or stick. Chill until well set (overnight works best, but hey, who am I to interrupt your hot cocoa fantasies with waiting?) If you're using the small souffle cups, put about a 1/2" of hot tap water into a pan and set the cups in for a few minutes. You can work the chocolate out of the cup pretty easily, setting the somewhat melty bottom onto a piece of wax paper.
Decorate with crushed peppermint candies (or crushed hard caramels would be great too!) and mini marshmallows. I make a 'glue' out of confectioner's sugar and a tiny bit of water, you could use melted white chocolate chips or chocolate chips. Put a thin layer of 'glue' or melted chocolate on the top of the treat and sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Dip a few mini marshmallows in the 'glue' and stick them on top, and somewhat up the stick.
Add a spoon to 6-8oz of very warm milk, let melt, stir and enjoy!
Stick them in the fridge as you do a few, so that the melted bottoms return to being flat.
Package them in our gusseted cell bags, tied with baker's twine and a cute stamped tag - makes a great little homemade gift.
Paper: Crumb Cake cardstock, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Versa Mark
Stamps: Border Banter, Happy Hour, Mixed Medley
Other: White Gel Pen, Decorative Label Punch, 1 1/4 Scallop Punch, 3/4" circle punch, large cello bags, 7/8 Natural Cotton Ribbon, Baker's Twine
