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I love making hot chocolate in the classroom! I’ve been making it this way for years now and I promise it is super simple. No more hot water, opening packets, mixing, etc, and tastes sooo much better! This will make a full crockpot and should serve approx 30 students.
This article works well with these resources from Primary Playground.
Let’s get to the yummy part!
ingredients
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of cocoa powder
2 cups of water
10 cups of milk
whipped cream and mini marshmallows
Instructions
You’ll need to do the “hard” part at home the night or morning before. You’ll mix the sugar, cocoa powder and water in a saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Let it cool and put it in a container to bring to school with you. When you’re ready to put it together in the classroom, pour your chocolate mixture in the crockpot and add in 10 cups on milk. Turn your crockpot on low. It’ll take about 2 hours on low for it to be hot. You may want to turn it off about 20 minutes before you start serving so it’s not quite as hot for the students. You’ll have a couple of cups of milk leftover, and if you’re getting low on the hot chocolate as your serving, you can add some of the leftover milk. It will still be plenty chocolaty.
After you make it this way, you’ll never want to go back. I even use the same recipe for Christmas at home too. Let me know if you try it!
One of our favorite activities to have hot chocolate with is when we’re working on our hot chocolate craft and writing prompts. They get to enjoy their hot chocolate while making their craft and writing about it. They look adorable all hanging up on the bulletin board!
And our Cooking Class How To Make Hot Chocolate is another favorite of the kids. Cooking class is a fun way to incorporate many different learning standards. In this pack, the students are learning writing, sequencing, retelling, life skills and much more. It’s a great hands-on activity to get the students excited to learn.
I hope your students enjoy their hot chocolate as much as mine do!
Jenette
Thank you. I love the writing activity. I do a hot chop plate bar every year as we watch polar express. I’m going to do the writing activity you suggested this week. I give my students snow man soup as their gift from me. I find travel mugs in the dollar store and they use those. Love this. Thank you.
I love the snowman soup gift idea! Have a wonderful time!
Could you make this in an instant pot?
Hi there. I’m sure you could but I have never done it myself. I do know that I’ve seen recipes specifically for making hot chocolate in an instant pot, so you may want to read through one of them just to see what any differences would be.
Hello! Not sure how to post my own comment, so I’m just replying. Is this hot chocolate pretty bittersweet like a dark chocolate, or is it more sweet like a milk chocolate?
Hi there. It’s more sweet like a milk chocolate since it uses cocoa powder and sugar as the chocolate base. Hope that helps!
Can I make the chocolate base 2 days ahead?
Absolutely! Just put it in the refrigerator. I save leftovers all of the time of the actual hot chocolate in the refrigerator when I make it at home and just warm up what I need that day for my kids. 🙂
How many cups does this make? We have a class of 20 kids and I am wondering if I should double the recipe.
This will serve approx 28 students in the regular Styrofoam size cups. If you’re using the larger cups with lids, I’d make a double batch using 2 crock pots. 🙂
Could you mix this completely (milk & all together)and then just dump the complete mixture into the crock pot the next day at school?
Yes, you most definitely can!
Is it unsweetened cocoa powder?
Yes,
unsweetened cocoa powder. 🙂
I’m a room parent in my sons class and will have an hour in the classroom before the party begins. I know it says two hours in the recipe but can I cook it for just one??
You can do it in an hour if you put it on high. Make sure to stir it every 15 minutes or so so the milk doesn’t scald. 🙂
What kind of cocoa mix do you use? I have a ton of the Swiss Miss packets in my cupboard but I’m not sure about adding sugar to that.
Just unsweetened cocoa powder. You can find it in the baking isle at the grocery store.
Hi! Can you make the entire recipe the night before? Can I mix/cook all ingredients together and then cool to place in fridge to be able to reheat in crockpot the next day?,
Yes you can! 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for your quick reply! Hope you have a very happy holiday!
I want to do this on Thursday. Thanks for sharing. If I combine all of it together including the milk would you recommend still the 2 hours on low?
It should be ready after one hour on high or 2 hours on low. Stir it occasionally so the milk doesn’t scald if you put it on high. 🙂
This recipe sounds great and I’m really excited to try it in my classroom! 🙂 I have a probably stupid question though….what is white sugar? Is that considered regular sugar or white powdered sugar? I’m sorry to ask such a silly question, but I just want to make sure that I make it correctly. Thank you!!
Granulated sugar. 🙂
Does the cocoa mixture need to be refrigerated until you put it in the crockpot with milk?
I make mine the night before and pop it in the fridge over night and leave out until I put i together at school. If you make it before school and take it to go with you, it will be just fine with not refrigerating it. 🙂
What is your crockpot size? Thanks!
6 quart. 🙂
I make this every year in my classroom. My students love it and drinking hot chocolate in 3rd grade has become a tradition. (We drink got chocolate every week during the winter months)
Last year, we complete your hot chocolate activity as a book. I took a picture of each student supplying hot chocolate and included it in their book. What a hit! I included it in our annua open house and the parents loved it!
What a fantastic idea! Such a special tradition that is for the students. Thank you for sharing!
I was wondering where to source the Cup and Marshmallow and writing line templates that you use?
Hi there, you can find the hot chocolate craft/writing source here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hot-Chocolate-Craft-With-Writing-PromptsPages-3410386 🙂
Hi!
Has anyone tried this with just water? I have 30 kids and a few are lactose intolerant.
Thanks!
Hi there. I would not suggest using water with this recipe. You could, however, replace the milk with soy or almond milk if either of those would be safe for the students. 🙂
What kind of milk do you use? Whole milk or 2%?
You can use whichever you’d like. 🙂
Can I substitute cacao powder for cocoa powder, or are they very different?
I would stick with cocoa powder to be safe. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I am going to make this at home during Christmas break, then make it for our New Year Party I do with my class when we return.
Can’t wait to try next week in my classroom with our writing activity!
Actually just wondering if you could use Splenda instead of Sugar? I want to make this for our church family tomorrow, but too many cannot have sugar.
Great question! I have never tried it that way, but with Splenda, you should be able to substitute it as a 1 to 1 ratio/replacement so my guess would be it would work just fine. Let us know if you try it!
Thanks this is perfect! Doing this for the “H” letter of the week cooking activity! I made a test batch first and it was delicious!!!
We have 37 first graders. What should I do to make enough because doubling it would obviously be way too much?
Hi there. For 37 kiddos, you could give each of them a bit less to make up for the extra kids, or you could make an additional half recipe. You would have some extra to share with some other people at the end, offer seconds, or if you have parent volunteers coming in. If you are going to do the recipe plus another half recipe, I’d suggest using 2 crock pots though as the original recipe does pretty much fill the crockpot full.