Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate morsels (I used Ghirardelli 60%)
- 4 ounces white chocolate morsels (I used Ghirardelli)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Preparation
Step 1
Using a small pairing knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Save the pod.
Add the scraped vanilla bean seeds and the rest of the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor with the metal blade attachment. Process the mixture in short spurts or pulses (don't run your food processor for too long at a time or you will create heat and risk melting some of the chocolate) until the chocolate is finely ground and everything is well combined.
Transfer the hot cocoa mix to an airtight container (I used my biggest mason jar for this) and slip the expended vanilla bean pod into the mix. Seal and let it sit overnight (or longer) at room temperature. When you are ready to assemble your gift packages, remove and discard the vanilla bean pod. Transfer the hot cocoa mix to the gifting containers of your choice. Add a cute ribbon and a small tag with instructions for making the hot cocoa.
To make a mug of hot cocoa, combine about 3 tablespoons of the hot cocoa mix with 8 ounces of heated milk of your choice and stir until well blended. If desired, top with whipped cream or marshmallows and serve with chocolate dipping spoons. Enjoy!
Notes
1. If you are planning to scale up this recipe, I recommend working in batches. My food processor was VERY full with just a single batch as written in the recipe above.
2. You can use bar chocolate instead of chocolate morsels. Be sure to chop them into smaller pieces before adding them to your food processor.