How to Make Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Mix {Recipe}

One of my absolute favorite treats to indulge during the holiday season (or any season for that matter) is a Salted Caramel Cupcake from Sucre New Orleans. It’s a decadent chocolate cupcake with a creamy caramel frosting laced with salt. It’s the perfect combination of salty and sweet!

When I saw this recipe at Pennies on a Platter, I knew I just had to try it. In fact, I decided to make this recipe as a Christmas gift for my girls’ teachers. Enjoy!

What You Need:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsps pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Hershey’s cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 cup dry milk powder
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
10 ounces Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
8 mason jars
Jumbo marshmallows
Labels and ribbon

How to Make It:

1. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper. Heat the granulated sugar is a large heavy pan on medium heat without stirring. As the sugar melts, simply swirl the pan by the handle until you get an even amber color. Remove sugar from heat and carefully add vanilla. Quickly whisk until smooth and pour caramel onto the baking sheet to harden. Set aside for at least one hour.

2. Break up the hardened caramel by tapping with the back of a spoon. Place broken pieces in a large food processor and pulverize under the caramel turns to a fine powder. Turn the processor off and follow the next steps to complete the mix.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to the food processor with the caramel powder and process until smooth. Finally, add the chocolate chips and process until you get a uniform mixture.

4. Split the mixture between 6-8 mason jars. Place 4 marshmallows (and I added a few semi-sweet chocolate chips) onto the mixture and close the jar tightly.

5. Download the printable you can use for the top of the jar. To make a cup of hot chocolate, place 3 tablespoons mix into one cup of warm milk and stir.