Happy Sugardays!

For the past few years, my husband and I have made some sort of crafty stocking stuffer for our family members at Christmas. Last year it was holiday marble magnets, a la Not Martha. The year before, we made a blend of mulling spices for apple cider. This year, it's hot cocoa mix in little holiday sacks. I used the hot cocoa recipes listed in this month's Sunset magazine, but there is something terribly wrong with their ratios. The first batch of cocoa was quite salty. Since I didn't want this year's gift to be remembered as "The Salty Cocoa Disaster of 2004", I changed the ratios and made my own mix. I would suggest 1 C powdered milk, 1 C cocoa powder (we used van Houten brand from Trader Joes), 1 C sugar, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 C mini chocolate chips, and 1/4 C white chocolate chips. When I doubled the recipe, I also threw in a packet of vanilla sugar. For mocha cocoa, I added 1 T instant coffee to the basic recipe. To make cocoa, combine 1/4 C mix with 1 C boiling water. Voila! For the stocking stuffers, I'm putting 3 servings of mix in ziploc bags, then tucking each one inside a drawstring pouch. Instructions are printed on photo paper and attached to each drawstring.