Monday, December 12, 2011

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Today was Polar Express Day at work- one of my favorite days of the school year.  After a morning full of reading, writing, and 'rithmetic, my students and I spent the afternoon watching Polar Express while sipping hot cocoa in our jammies.


It was also the afternoon of my teaching team's annual Christmas gift exchange.  I was planning to make homemade hot chocolate mixes for them, but I saw these little guys on Dainty Chef over the weekend and just couldn't resist the adorable presentation.  If you are in need of any last-minute homemade gift ideas, look no further.  They were quick to whip up and taste delicious.  (I kept one for myself, of course!)

Be sure to visit the Make and Takes link to find printable directions for your lucky hot chocolate recipients.

From Make and Takes, originally from King Arthur Flour, via Dainty Chef
Yields 36 squares

* For gluten-free recipients, use Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk and Kraft marshmallows.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup heavy cream
One 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semisweet chocolate
One 4-oz bar unsweetened chocolate (broken or chopped into smaller pieces)

For assembly:
Marshmallows
Wooden or cookie/lollipop sticks
Cellophane bags
Pretty ribbon

DIRECTIONS
1.  Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside. Heat the cream and sweetened condensed milk over medium-low heat until it starts steaming, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, put the chocolate mixture back on medium-low heat and stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted and shiny. Pour chocolate into prepared pan and spread chocolate as level as you possibly can. Let sit overnight (12 hours or so).

2.  Remove chocolate from pan and cut, top side face down, into squares. Divide the block into sixths each direction, so your squares will be a bit larger than 1″ x 1″. Use a long, thin knife. Heat the knife under hot water, wipe dry with a towel or paper towel, make a few cuts, then repeat the knife-heating procedure.

When ready to use, stir into 3/4 cup of piping hot milk until melted and well-combined.
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