Hot Chocolate on a Stick!

 

I've been making "Hot Chocolate on a Stick" for gifts. When I saw these last year on the make and takes blog I knew that's what I'd be doing this year! 

http://www.makeandtakes.com/hot-chocolate-on-a-stick

Here's how you do it! First, here is the recipe for the chocolate.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cocoa-blocks-recipe

•  1/2 cup heavy cream
• One 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chips (Kristi note: I used 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and 1 cup milk chocolate chips.
• One 4-oz bar unsweetened chocolate (broken or chopped into smaller pieces)
• Wooden or cookie/lollipop sticks
• 8″x8″ pan, lined with parchment paper or wax paper

Heat the cream and sweetened condensed milk over medium-low heat until it starts steaming, stirring periodically. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes, then put back on medium-low heat and stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted and shiny. (At this point you could add some flavoring…vanilla, hazelnut, peppermint) I added almond flavoring and vanilla.
Pour chocolate into prepared pan and spread chocolate as level as you possibly can. Let sit overnight (12 hours or so). Any tips I discovered or tweaking I did will be below.

 I lightly covered with tinfoil.

Tip the chocolate over onto a cutting board. The wax paper comes off really easily.

 Now cut the chocolate with a large knife, after every few cuts you'll want to wet the knife with hot water then wipe the water off. It helps the chocolate cut way easy.

 

Cut into small squares, about 1 inch big. Then I stored in an air tight container.

 

Here's how to make the marshmallows. Again any tips I have or tweaking I did will be below.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cocoa-blocks-recipe

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer set up with the whisk attachment along with 1/2 cup of the water.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

 Here's the mixture you'll use to dip your marshmallows into. 1/4 c. powdered sugar and 1/4 c. cornstarch. 

This is the hot syrup when it's ready to be poured into the gelatin. Once the temperature gets to 240 (it took about 10 minutes for me) immediately remove from heat and pour into the gelatin.

This is how the gelatin and ice water will mix when you're ready to pour the syrup in.

Pour the hot syrup into the side of the bowl slowly while mixing on low speed, once everything is mixed in turn to high speed.

I had Kadin mixing the marshmallow for me while I was doing something else (I really need a Bosch or Kitchen Aid). Apparently I had him mix it too long because it broke my whisk off of it's handle, it stripped the threads. So, the next batch I made, I mixed for a shorter time and used my two beaters. They didn't break and the marshmallow is even yummier!

Grease a 9X13 in. pan.

Cover with the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture. Dump out the remaining mixture and save for later.

Pour into the pan.

I discovered this my second batch. If you're planning on rolling in crushed candy cane or anything I wouldn't sprinkle the powdered sugar/corn starch mixture over the top so that it remains sticky.

 

Just pick up the marshmallow so you don't have to flip it over onto the sticky side, it just comes right up, then you don't have to put the sticky side down.

In the recipe he suggests dipping a knife or pizza cutter blade into the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture so you can cut the marshmallow easily. I tried that my first batch and it worked ok but was still not that easy to cut, plus I had to keep dipping it and that was awkward because I had the mixture in a bowl so it was hard to dip. SOOOOO my second batch I tried spraying non stick cooking spray onto my kitchen sheers and it worked so much better. I only had to spray it a few times and it worked beautifully. It was so much easier to cut with the scissors too.

This was the first batch I made, where I sprinkled the powder mix over the top.

Don't they look delicious?! They are!

 

If you want to roll the marshmallow in crushed candy cane or anything else you'll want to leave the marshmallow sticky and not roll it in the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture.
EDIT: I do NOT recommend rolling the marshmallow in candy cane. The candy cane melts. :(

I got 8" sticks and actually cut them in half, it would be fun to leave the sticks long but I made so many that I cut them in half. Instead of tearing off pieces of plastic wrap I bought little treat bags, that made it a lot easier to package. When putting together put the marshmallow on first, then the chocolate, then place inside the treat bag and tie with a piece of ribbon.

I rolled some in crushed candy cane and some in toffee bits, I didn't make very many with toffee bits because they didn't stick very well. I think the toffee bits are too heavy.

 Place inside the gift bag.

 If you only have black and white ink you can do this. Punch a hole in the tag, then tie with a piece of ribbon.

 

This is what I did when I had color ink.

  

 Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Swirl & melt the chocolate and

marshmallow stick in 4 - 8 

 ounces of hot milk (depending  

on how ‘chocolaty’ you like it) 

or eat it directly off the stick!

Merry Christmas!

From the Blacks

Jeremy (Audrey's -my friend from work- husband and Levi both enjoying the hot chocolate on a stick. Audrey and Jeremy say they "LOVE IT" and "why isn't it on your blog yet, I want the recipe".  Kerby really likes it too, he loves the chocolate and wants me to make it all the time now. It was pretty easy to make so I don't mind doing it sometimes. Here's a hint, you want the milk to be really hot so it melts the chocolate all the way and don't use a lot of milk.