This easy mason jar hot chocolate recipe makes the best DIY hot cocoa Christmas gift. Completely customizable homemade hot chocolate mix that can be made in small, single serve mason jars or in a large jar for a bunch of people.
For inspirational ideas on how to flavor your hot chocolate, see this amaretto hot chocolate or this coffee hot chocolate. You can add in any flavor to these jars, be creative!
Hot chocolate bombs involve a little more work to make but also make fantastic gifts.
Jump to:
Why this is the best hot chocolate in a jar
- It’s single serve. Use mini mason jars for to make individual hot chocolate portions! Make a bunch of different single serve mason jars filled with a variety of flavors for a hot chocolate gift basket.
- It’s customizable. Be creative with the flavor of chocolate chips you choose and the toppings you add to make a unique hot chocolate gift.
- It’s the best homemade hot chocolate mix. This recipe makes delicious, creamy, chocolatey hot chocolate which tastes so much better than any hot chocolate mix you’d buy in the store.
Ingredients
- Chocolate chips: Use whichever flavor you want. Some great options include butterscotch, white chocolate, Skor, salted caramel, milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
How to make the Christmas hot chocolate jars
Layer the ingredients on top of each other in the mason jar. Start with the cocoa powder, followed by the sugar, and then the chocolate chips.
On top of the chocolate chips, add any optional toppings you want such as crushed peppermints.
Then, fill the remaining space with marshmallows.
How to make the hot chocolate
First, set aside the marshmallow for now.
Add the ingredients in the jar and one cup of milk to a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Whisk to fully melt the chocolate. Don’t let the mixture boil.
Once well combined, after about 5 minutes, remove the hot chocolate from the stove, top with the marshmallows and enjoy!
Ideas for optional toppings
There are so many great toppings for hot chocolate. Just look around a dollar store in the candy section to get an idea.
Some of my favorites are: crushed reese pieces, crushed candy canes, crumbled cookies, brownie bits, toffee bits and chocolate sprinkles.
FAQ
Decorate these jars with colourful ribbons, stickers and personalised labels. You can also find a decorative box to give these in. Or, wrap them in a gift basket with other treats.
Either add extra marshmallows and optional toppings to fill the space, or double or triple the serving size.
Expert Tips
- Use a funnel. If you want to make the layers perfectly aligned, use a funnel with a wide mouth to add the ingredients to the jars.
- Avoid perishable toppings. Don’t add any sauces or toppings that require refrigeration. If you want to include a topping that needs to go in the fridge, for example chocolate sauce, put it in a separate small jar and specify to keep it in the fridge.
📖 Recipe
Mason Jar Hot Chocolate
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This easy mason jar hot chocolate recipe makes the best DIY hot cocoa Christmas gift. Make in single serve jars or a large jar for a group.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips*
- Handful of mini marshmallows
Instructions
- To make the mason jars: Add the ingredients to the jar, layering them on top of each other. Start with the cocoa powder, followed by the sugar and then the chocolate chips. Fill any extra space with optional toppings or marshmallows.
- To make the hot chocolate: Remove the marshmallows and set them aside. Add the rest of the ingredients and 1 cup of milk to a saucepan. Heat on medium heat, whisking to melt the chocolate. Continue to whisk for about 5 minutes until the chocolate is fully melted and everything is well combined. Remove from the stove, top with marshmallows and serve.
Notes
- *Chocolate chips: Experiment and use any flavor of chocolate chips.
- Optional toppings: Add any topping you want such as Reese’s pieces, cookie crumbles, brownie bits or crushed candy cane.
- Don’t add perishable toppings. Don’t mix in anything that needs to be refrigerated.
- Nutrition Info: Includes 1 cup milk to make the drink, but no additional toppings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Hot Chocolate
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 43.6g
- Sodium: 111mg
- Fat: 12.4g
- Saturated Fat: 7.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 46.6g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 9.7g
- Cholesterol: 12mg
Keywords: hot chocolate recipe, hot chocolate
Jill
Where did you buy the cute stickers?!
The Littlest Crumb
The jars I found already had the stickers on them (found at Dollarama). But adding your own stickers to mini mason jars is a great idea!