Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Today we are taking a break from Mexican-inspired dishes ;). Are you finished with your holiday shopping yet or are you a last minute kind of person? If you know me in real life, you know that I am pretty organized so my holiday shopping is all complete. Now I am able to focus on decorating, baking, and birthday party hosting for my Mom & Dad. If you are still in need of some homemade gift ideas, may I suggest these adorable hot chocolates on a stick. They make the perfect winter treat for neighbors, co-workers, and teachers. Just don't give your child's teacher a mug to go with it, that seems to be the go to gift in my years of teaching, and I can only handle so many.

These come together with incredible ease and when they are packaged up are incredibly darling. I planned to pair them with some homemade marshmallows, but I just didn't have the time to make them so I went with the store-bought instead. I sent these to my cookie swap matches to go along with the cookies I sent them, that recipe will be posted on Monday! Blair and I have been enjoying the leftovers cozied up on the couch next to the fireplace. They make a mean cup of hot cocoa that has been perfect for chilly nights. I plan to make another batch to take to our neighborhood pizza party next week as a little thank-you hosting gift. If you need a little tag to print out with them, click on the Source at the bottom of the recipe for a cute printable instructions tag to go along with them. Also, make sure you enter my giveaway for a rolling pin below.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick
Yield: 36 squares
Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream
One 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chips (I used semi-sweet chips)
One 4-oz bar unsweetened chocolate (broken or chopped into smaller pieces)

For assembly:
Marshmallows, homemade or store-bought
Wooden or cookie/lollipop sticks
Cellophane bags
Pretty ribbon

What you'll do:

Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside. Heat the cream and sweetened condensed milk over medium-low heat until it starts steaming, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, put the chocolate mixture back on medium-low heat and stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted and shiny. Pour chocolate into prepared pan and spread chocolate as level as you possibly can. Let sit overnight (12 hours or so).

Remove chocolate from pan and cut, top side face down, into squares. Divide the block into sixths each direction, so your squares will be a bit larger than 1″ x 1″. Use a long, thin knife. Heat the knife under hot water, wipe dry with a towel or paper towel, make a few cuts, then repeat the knife-heating procedure.

Source: Make and Takes, originally from King Arthur Flour