Hi there! So this week my friend Kayla and I have been working on my upcoming Christmas party and after a lot of debating, we decided to make hot chocolate in jars for party favors! And not just hot chocolate, peppermint hot chocolate!! Mint and chocolate have to be one of the best combinations ever. Anywho, we looked around on pinterest and found many ideas but we designed the jars and made the recipe on our own, to our liking. And let me tell ya, I like these! They are incredibly cute, very festive and most of all, the contents inside the jar make a pretty darn good cup of cocoa. What's better than hot cocoa on a cold winter night? Nothing. ;) We made these jars as party favors, but they would make a wonderful Christmas gift as well! They are so cute and dainty, and don't forget delicious! They are cheap to make and fun to give :) A simple jar of hot chocolate is a great DIY gift and people always enjoy receiving things people made :)




After our coffee date, we went up to a few stores in search of mason jars and twine. We found them both at Fred Myer, where they were relatively inexpensive. A few days later we began working. First, we tested the hot chocolate to find the perfect amounts and ratios of the ingredients. We then slaved (jk) in the kitchen and put these cute little jars together. It was a pretty quick and easy process. A couple days later when I found some free time, I made cute gift tags and assembled the jars to make them oh so much cuter. :)

The jars I used are half pint jars, which is perfect for two servings. In other words, you get two cups of hot chocolate. Before I end my little introduction, I'd like to say that this is the best hot chocolate I have ever had! It was very rich and creamy. The dark chocolate gave it a very nice rich chocolatey flavor and there was a perfect amount of peppermint. Here I have the recipe for the half-pint jars, but you can just skip the jars and go straight to making the cocoa. (The recipe and directions come after the photos). Enjoy!

What you need for this project:
-12 half pint mason jars
-twine
-gift tags, found here
-instructions
-the recipe for the hot chocolate (below)
-scissors
-hole punch

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Ingredients for the jar:
-1/6 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-4 tablespoons sugar
-pinch of salt
-enough dark and semisweet chocolate chips to cover the sugar layer
-2 Hershey's peppermint/candy cane white chocolate kisses, chopped
-1 candy cane, crushed
-enough mini marshmallows to fill the remaining space in the jar

Directions for the jar:
1) Carefully, with a spoon, place the cocoa powder into the jar. Make sure none gets on the side. Lightly swirl the jar and tap on the counter to set and even out the cocoa.
2) Add the sugar and even the layer until smooth.
3) Add 1 layer of dark chocolate chips to almost cover the sugar. Add a few semi-chocolate chips on top.
4) Sprinkle the chopped hershey kisses onto the previous layer.
4) Add the crushed candy canes and smooth out the layer.
5) Fill the remaining space with the mini marshmallows and screw on the lid.
6) You're done! Now decorate the jar however you please.

Now that you have the jars finished, the next step is to make instructions. I made gift tags and put the instructions inside the tags. But you can do this step however you'd like. Here are the ingredients and directions for preparing the hot chocolate:

Ingredients for preparation:
-1/6 cup hot water
-1 3/4 cup milk
-1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1/4 cup half-and-half

Directions for preparation:
1) Discard the marshmallows and set aside.
2) Empty the jar contents into a small saucepan and add the hot water.
3) Bring to an easy boil and stir for two minutes. Be careful to not scorch the chocolate.
4) Once all the ingredients have melted, add the milk. While occasionally stirring, heat the milk until it's very hot. But do not boil!
5) Remove from heat and add the vanilla and stir in the half-and-half.
6) Pour the hot chocolate into two mugs and add the marshmallows. Add whipped cream for extra deliciousness.

*Note: If this cocoa seems too sweet, just add more milk or water. Also, you should probably test the recipe for yourself first and adjust anything to your liking. :)

So I hope you will give this a try and I really hope you will enjoy it as much as I did! Thanks! :)