Peruvian Hot Chocolate

On a chilly day, Peruvians like to warm up with a mug of their delicious, traditional hot chocolate spiced with cloves and cinnamon. The ingredients in this easy-to-make recipe fill a pint-size jar and make a sweet gift.

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• ½ cup sugar 
• 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks, or 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1 tsp. ground cloves 
• ¼ tsp. salt 
• chocolate chips 
• mini-marshmallows

Directions

1. Into a pint-size wide-mouth jar, pour cocoa in a level layer. 
2. Pour sugar on top of cocoa. 
3. Slide cinnamon stick(s) into jar, along the side.* 
4. Add cloves, then salt. *If using ground cinnamon instead of sticks, add on top of salt. 
5. Fill remaining space with chocolate chips, then mini-marshmallows. Screw lid on top. 
6. On cardstock or thick paper, write the recipe given below.
7. Attach recipe card to jar with ribbon. Now it's ready to give as a gift.
   

Peruvian Hot Chocolate Recipe

• Pour the contents of this jar into a medium saucepan. Whisk them together. Slowly add 3 cups water to the pan.
• Place saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk until the cocoa and sugar dissolve. Bring to a soft boil.
• Slowly whisk in 1-2 cups milk and reheat gently.
• Melt in chocolate chips if desired.
• Serve in mugs, topped with mini-marshmallows.