Homemade hot chocolate sticks
These are super simple to create and make a fantastic festive gift!
There’s nothing better than showing the love with something you’ve taken the time to make yourself. Choose your favourite chocolate and toppings – and you can easily make them vegan and gluten free.
Ingredients
Makes 12 chocolate sticks
For the sticks
600g chocolate of your choice (or around 50g per stick), such as:
- Dark chocolate with sea salt
- Maltesers
- Terry’s chocolate orange
- Lindt Lindor bars
- Belgian milk chocolate
- Mint Aero
- Kinder bars
- Oat milk / dairy-free chocolate bars
Toppings of your choice
- Mini marshmallows or vegan alternative
- Chocolate chips – dark, white, milk
- Little chocolate stars or hearts
- Festive sprinkles
- Peanut butter chips
- Fudge pieces
Equipment
- Small empty yogurt pots or silicone cake moulds – stars, Christmas trees, hearts, whatever you have at home! Toddler-size yogurt pots work really well.
- Microwave safe bowls
- Wooden lollipop sticks or mini wooden spoons
- An airtight container, an old jar or some greaseproof paper for wrapping
- Ribbon to make them look pretty
Method
The sticks will last up to two weeks once wrapped, so you can get making in advance – and they’ll last even longer without marshmallows.
Step 1
Lightly grease your clean yogurt pots or silicone mould with a flavourless oil, like vegetable or sunflower oil to stop the chocolate sticking.
Step 2
Break your chosen chocolate into a microwaveable bowl and heat for 10 seconds at a time in the microwave. Stir well between each time and when it’s two thirds melted, stir until it’s completely melted and smooth rather than heating any more.
Step 3
Pour into your mould or yogurt pot so they’re about two thirds full.
Step 4
Add toppings of your choice to the top – without pushing them in as you want them to sit on the top!
Step 5
Push sticks or mini wooden spoons into the chocolate – they should stand up but you can always straighten them once the chocolate starts to harden.
Step 6
Put in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
Step 7
Remove from the fridge and take the sticks out of the pots / mould.
Step 8
Wrap in cellophane or an airtight container and make a label: ‘Dunk me into 200mls of your warm milk of choice for a yummy hot chocolate!’
Step 9
Tie some pretty ribbon to seal your cellophane wrap.
Make these as a homemade Christmas gift
This is a brilliant homemade chocolate recipe – perfect for festive presents. Why not try making them and gifting them to your neighbours, friends, family or colleagues, and use the opportunity to ask how they are this Christmas?
