It’s winter and that means cold weather and hot drinks! One of my favorite hot beverages to serve to my family is hot chocolate and I have a wonderful yummy crock pot hot cocoa recipe. It’s warm and creamy and can be mixed up a bit to really customize it for your family’s personal tastes.
There are 6 of us and while we all love to top our hot cocoa differently, one thing we can agree on is the hot chocolate itself. The little packets you buy are ok in a pinch but when I know the weather is going to be cold and snowy, there’s nothing better than making up a big batch of hot cocoa while the kids are at school. It makes the house smell incredible and I can get it started a couple hours before they get home. It’s also perfect on snow days when everyone is playing outside in the snow. Homemade crock pot hot cocoa sure makes warming up a lot more fun!
It only takes a couple of hours in the crock pot / slow cooker and can be served up in fun, seasonal mugs placed on a pretty tray. I love using my new personalized serving tray from Zazzle. Ours has our family name on it and I was even able to add this year on it so we always remember when we got it.
Speaking of the tray, I love it! The image on the front is laminated so I can easily wipe up any spills. Which is great because I dumped an entire mug of hot cocoa when I was putting the mugs on the tray. I’m clumsy so I definitely need something I can clean up quickly and easily. The sides are great too. They have handles and are screwed into place so they really stay on well.
I was able to customize it too. There are several graphics to choose from but you can choose your own. I loved the one with Santa’s sleigh that says “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”. I could have changed the colors on it some if ‘d wanted but I thought it looked a bit antique. So I just added “The Martin Family” and the year “2014”. It was perfect. There is a little preview that is a real view of the tray and it shows each change you make. You can even choose between natural wood and black. It is really cool. Ordering it was super easy from Customizing to checking out. The only trouble I had was initially deciding on the deign I wanted! After I decided the rest was a breeze.
I’d never ordered from Zazzle before but I sure will be from now on. There are tons of items that I can get as gifts or for our home and customize them to look exactly how I want. I’m in love!
Ok, so I had this pretty tray and decided to serve up our crock pot hot cocoa on it. The kids were really excited when I brought it out. I put it in some snowman mugs and brought it out on the serving tray. I had bought some cute candy cane spoons. They are edible and were great in the hot cocoa. Some of the kids love mini marshmallows in theirs but I didn’t have any on hand. So I topped each much of hot chocolate with whipped cream, green sprinkles and fresh chocolate shavings. Then I added the candy cane spoon and it was all set!
The kids drank every drop of their crock post hot cocoa!
This particular crock pot hot cocoa recipe only uses 6 ingredients. It is rich and creamy. Our original recipe calls for whole milk but we sometimes substitute it for coconut milk for an even richer treat. Coconut milk will make it super rich tasting so a little goes a long way if you use it in place of regular milk. I’ve added the recipe below so you can print it out and try it for yourself.
Crock Pot Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 14oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 5 Cups Whole Milk alternatively 3 cups whole milk AND 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a slow cooker / crock pot on low heat
- Heat on low heat for 2 hours or until chocolate chips are thoroughly melted and hot
- Stir occasionally to prevent chocolate chips from sticking
- Serve in mugs and top as desired (*see notes)
Notes
- Mini Marshmallows
- Caramel Sauce
- Hot Fudge Sauce or Chocolate Sauce
- Whipped Cream
- Peppermint Sticks or Candy Canes
- Chocolate Shavings
- Sprinkles
- Maraschino Cherries
For adult only beverages (21 and older), add 1/2 ounce of your favorite bourbon or rum
Leave a comment below if you try out our yummy crock pot hot cocoa recipe!
Travel Lover | Pet Mama | Beauty Junkie | Low Glycemic – Healthy Fats – Low Carb – Keto Inspired Food Enthusiast | Cocktails | Printables
Crystal is a stay-at-home- mom, living in KY with her husband and children. She is a travel and lifestyle blogger encouraging folks to live their life one adventure at a time while also focusing on beauty, health and lifestyle. From time to time she also likes to showcase her adorable pets along with her family. Along with Cinnamon Hollow she can be found at The Martin Family Adventure … read more
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