How to Make Homemade Light Hot Cocoa Mix

Nothing tastes better than hot chocolate on a cold night. Hot chocolate warms you from the inside out and tastes delicious, too. Store bought hot cocoa mixes may come in sugar free varieties, but they often contain nasty ingredients such as hydrogenated oils. Making your own homemade light hot cocoa mix isn't difficult and it will keep for several weeks in a closed container. Here is how to make your very own homemade light hot chocolate mix.

Ingredients. Before creating your own homemade light hot chocolate mix, you will need to make sure you have the right ingredients. You will need nonfat dry milk powder, cocoa powder (buy some of the good stuff---Dutch process), sweetener (sugar or artificial sweetener depending on your preference), and hot water or hot milk.

The Mix. How much of each ingredient you choose to add to your homemade light hot cocoa mix depends on your taste preferences. A basic rule of thumb is to start with one part cocoa to three parts dry milk. Add in sweetener depending on how sweet you want your homemade light hot cocoa mix to be. You will have to do a little experimenting to make sure you find the right mix for you.

The Calories. If you choose to make your homemade light hot chocolate mix with artificial sweetener, each cup, when prepared with hot water, will have only about 30 calories. If you choose sugar, your homemade hot cocoa mix will still have fewer calories than most store bought counterparts. Choosing to make your hot chocolate with milk instead of water will greatly increase the calorie content, however it will also increase the calcium and protein content, and you may find you will need to use less sweetener since milk contains natural sugars.

The Bottom Line. Making your own homemade light hot chocolate mix is a wonderful idea. When you make your own homemade hot chocolate mix you get to control the ingredients. You can easily leave out non-nutrients and keep your mix simple and delicious. You can add as much or little cocoa and sweetener as you desire. You can also get creative and add additional spices such as cinnamon or cayenne pepper. Finally, homemade hot cocoa mix is also an economical choice as it is very inexpensive to make. You can even create your own premeasured hot cocoa packets by measuring out portions into small bags or reusable plastic containers for quick and easy preparation.

Forget buying sugar free cocoa mix packets in the store. Start making your own homemade light hot chocolate mix for the best taste, best ingredients, and best way to save a little money.