Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Here is the hot chocolate on a stick recipe that used the homemade marshmallows. This can be swirled into warm milk to make a creamy hot chocolate, or it can be enjoyed directly off the stick as a piece of fudge topped with marshmallow. This recipe has been all over blogs, but I followed the steps on The Dainty Chef. If you are still in need of a gift idea, give these hot chocolate sticks a try. They take awhile in how long everything needs to set, but they are not complicated to make. I'm excited to gift these to coworkers, friends, and family. In addition to these, this year's baked gifts included some gingerbread granola, oreo truffles, gingerbread biscotti, cinnamon sugar muffins, and the usual pretzel treats. I tried a number of new recipes while I was off this week. Some were successes and others were not. I am planning on baking a bit more these last few days before the holiday so hopefully I'll be back with more to share.

You will need:
*1/2 cup heavy cream
*14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
*3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (can be chopped or chips)
*4-oz bar unsweetened chocolate (I blanked on using this the first batch and it was fine without)
*marshmallows, can use store bought to save time
*lollipop sticks
*cellophane bags

1. Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Heat the cream and sweetened condensed milk over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it starts steaming. Remove pan from heat and stir in the chocolates. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3. After ten minutes, put the chocolate mixture back on medium-low heat and stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted. (This did not take too long) Pour the chocolate mixture into prepared pan and spread it to be as level as you can. Let this set, uncovered, for about 12 hours.

4. Remove chocolate from the pan onto a cutting board with the top side down. Run a long, thin knife under hot water and wipe with a paper towel. Divide your square into six equal sections vertically and then horizontally. You want to keep reheating the knife with hot water after every few cuts. Store the chocolate squares in an airtight container until ready to use. I layered mine into a simple Tupperware using wax paper.

5. To assemble, place a marshmallow and then hot chocolate fudge piece onto each lollipop stick. Package in a bag and twist tie or add a ribbon. You'll also want to include directions with these treats. Here are the tags that I used that were inspired by Make and Takes:

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Swirl and melt the chocolate and marshmallow

stick in 4-8 ounces of hot milk.

If you can't wait for it to melt, just eat

the hot chocolate fudge and marshmallow

directly off the stick!