Quick and Easy Edible Christmas Gifts. Hot Chocolate Mix & Brigadeiros (VIDEO)

These festive sweets can be whipped up on the fly and kept for weeks if not months.

It's the time of the year when eating candy, drinking hot chocolate or enjoying other sweet treats are holiday traditions. Even though I have not eaten candy for the last decade, my children eat sweet stuff in any form. As a mom who is trying to raise healthy children and teaches about real food, I always need healthy treat alternatives. Trying to find ways to enjoy something sweet without exposing myself and my family to all the toxic chemicals is my goal.

This year I decided to share with all of you what I make for my family which can be used as gifts for my friends around this most wonderful time of the year.

The first recipe is: HOT CHOCOLATE MIX

This hot chocolate mix is better than boxed mix, just whisk into hot water and enjoy the deeply chocolaty flavor and luxurious body of European sipping chocolate. Its richness is restrained enough that you can easily indulge in a full mug's worth.

WHY IT'S SO GOOD THIS HOT CHOCOLATE MIX?

The key is supplementing the cacao powder and chocolate chips or bar chocolate broken into pieces with a combination of dried milk powder (goat is my choice). Both add creamy body and velvety consistency for a delightful hot chocolate drinking experience.

WHAT DO I LIKE ABOUT THIS HOT CHOCOLATE MIX?

• Easy to make, only hot water needed

• Very inexpensive but will make for a thoughtful gift 

• All you need are 5 simple ingredients

• Keeps for 4 months

The mix can easily be halved or doubled and comes together with the push of a button.

To make one serving in 3-steps:

1. Heat your water in a tea kettle

2. Add two heaping tablespoons of chocolate mix into the cup

3. Pour water, whisk. AND ENJOY!

WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE A HOT CHOCOLATE MIX?

Cacao powder - good quaity cacao powder is worse of spending extra dollar. It's extra rich and processed completely differently than cocoa powder. The processing of the cocoa bean is what makes cacao powder the healthier.

The culinary scientist Jessica Gavin explaints why:

“The beans are processed at low temperatures and are considered raw. Once milled into powder, it contains a much higher amount of enzymes, minerals, and nutrients. That’s cacao powder. It tastes more bitter than cocoa powder but offers more nutritional content and is considered more natural.”

Sugar - most recipe called fow white powdered sugar, that is easy desolves in a hot water. But its nothing exept empty calories. Pure cane turbinado sugar is very little processing, conteins some trace minerals and it is considered a healthier alternative to white sugar.

Dry powder milk - I used organic goat milk powder, its easier to digest for people with lactose sensetivities. And the product I used is has nothing but milk, one ingredient. Its easy this way to sneak to my hot chocolate mix in a creaminess without adding milk later on.

Whole real vanilla bean - that's what gives the most delightful flavor to rich chocolate. I used the wgole thing without scraping a bean out of pod, great way to use your pods even after you scrape your beanout for other cooking aplications. Here is why, because everything is going to be process in a blender and it don't matter.

Chocolate chips - the ast but not leasted ingredient, gives eexually the body to the hot chocolate. Rich, creamy, extra chocolate with smoth and almost velvery concistency, european hot chocolate. I like this brand has no soy lechithin but sunflower lechithin. They differ in their molecular composition and source. Soy lecithin is derived from soybeans and contains a higher amount of the omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid (we have more than enough in our diet, and its a big factor of inflamition), while sunflower lecithin is derived from sunflower seeds and contains more choline (something what we need in our diet for a healthier mussle function).

Ingredients for hot chocolate mix

1 cup (3 ounces) cacao powder unsweetened

1 cup (3 ounces) dry milk powder (I prefer goat milk)

1 cup (7 ounces) raw cane organic sugar

1 teaspoon pink salt (optional)

1 inch of the whole real vanilla bean

1/2-1 cup of chocolate chips (or chop up a good quality chocolate bar)

1/2 cup of mini marshmallows (optional)

Tools you need:

• A food processor (it's a necessity since we are not using powdered sugar. Raw cane sugar is coarse and needs to be very fine in order to dissolve quickly}.

•  Small Mason jars are best (I like 8 oz).

• A kitchen twine.

• A piece of paper to make a label so you can write directions on how to make a cup of hot chocolate.

Directions:

• Process all ingredients (except the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows) in the food processor until it is ground into a powder. This should take 30 to 60 seconds.

• Transfer to jars.

• Top with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

• Place the lid on tight. 

• Create a label and then write down the directions.

• Use some kitchen string and thread through the label.

• Tie the label to the base of the jar lid.

Note

This is what you want to write on your label:

Take 2 heaping tablespoons of cacao powder mix and add to the mug along with one cup of hot water, stir. And enjoy!

The second recipe is: BRIGADEIROS

These traditional fudgy Brazilian truffles are super easy to make and only 3 ingredients are needed. They are chewy and gooey. It’s almost like a chocolate chewy caramel. Yummy and perfect as a Christmas gift.

WHY ARE BRIGADEIROS SO GOOD?

They are fudgy and festive. Good quality cacao powder gives such a rich chocolate taste and the crunchy coating provides a contrast in textures, which makes them irresistible and everyone can enjoy them. These luscious beauties can be made in advance for up to two weeks and you can substitute the garnishes to meet dietary needs for everyone.

Many sources suggest that these dense, super chocolaty one-two bite confections were popularized by Brazilian Air Force Brigadier Eduardo Gomes during his 1945 presidential campaign. Brazilian women, who had recently won the right to vote, reportedly sold these treats at his political rallies.

WHAT DO I LIKE ABOUT THESE BRAZILIAN TRUFFLES?

• Easy to make, only 3 simple ingredients needed

• Very inexpensive but will make a thoughtful gift 

• Fun project for kiddos

• Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge

• The recipe can be easily doubled

WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE BRIGADEIROS?

Ingredients for brigadeiros

1 can (14-ounce) of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup (1&1/2 ounces) unsweetened cacao powder

2 tablespoons salted grass-fed butter

For coating brigadeiros:

Sprinkles, crushed nuts or seeds, cacao nibs, shredded coconut, etc.

You also will need mini cupcake liners.

DIRECTIONS

• On low to medium heat add butter to the sauce pan and let it melt.

• Add condensed milk and mix all together. Now add cacao powder.

• Increase the heat just a bit until everything starts to bubble slightly. Be very careful, for it can burn in the blink of an eye. Using a rubber spatula, stir frequently, until the mixture is very thick.This should take about 10 minutes.

• Pour mixture onto a plate and let it cool for 30 minutes at least. Place in the fridge for a faster result. This step can be done the day before and kept covered in the fridge with plastic wrap.

• Pinch mixture with a spoon into approximately 1 teaspoon size pieces and roll into 1 inch balls. Don't forget to grease your hands with butter.

• Place desired coatings into small bowls, roll each ball in the coating until covered. Place each piece into a mini cupcake liner and then package accordingly.

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