12 Days of a GREEN Christmas- Day 5: Food Gifts

I love Christmas time for many reasons, I love seeing the lights everyone puts up, the different family traditions old and new, getting together with friends and family, giving and receiving cards, and especially enjoy getting the opportunity to give gifts. 

Food gifts are a great option for ANYONE! Great for neighbors, coworkers, even people who are hard to buy for. You can still put a lot of thought into food gifts whether you get bread from your favorite bakery, a growler from a local brewery, you make homemade cookies, or bake a cake for your office. Food gifts are a great opportunity to put love into something because of the thought and time put into it. ️

They’re also a great sustainable option since they require very little wrapping! Gift them in a glass jar, basket, metal tin, or wrapped in paper. You can get creative! 

For our neighbors, I made homemade hot cocoa! 

What you’ll need:

• 1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk (per serving)

Tools:

• Food processor
• Spatula
• Airtight storage container

Instructions:

1. Add milk powder, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and salt to food processor. Pulse for 1 second pulses until chocolate chips are finely ground. The cocoa powder is ready when the chocolate chips are finely ground.
2. Store in airtight container. (Can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 months.)
3. To make hot cocoa: Scoop 2-3 spoonful’s cocoa mix into a large mug and add 1 cup hot milk. Top with mini marshmallows or whipped cream.
4. Enjoy!!

Notes:

• It takes a while to get the chocolate chips to be finely ground, longer than I expected.
• Only add 2-3 spoonful’s of the hot chocolate mix. To me, 1/3 cup was way too much.
• Suggest heat the milk/ water first, or else it tends to overflow in the microwave.
• I got this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, here.