homemade cocoa and candy cane marshmallows

Photo: Monika Bartyzel

Believe it or not, something incredibly simple like homemade cocoa mix can make for a surprising and charming homemade Christmas gift. The trick is coming up with a theme and adding some unique twists to make it all come together.

There are two options for homemade cocoa -- one that relies completely on chocolate and requires warmed milk to make, or a mix with powdered milk that can be made with warmed milk or boiling water. Martha Stewart has whipped up a great example of the former while Alton Brown's Hot Cocoa Recipe is a perfect example of the latter, which allows for warm chocolate sips even when the milk runs out.

The next step is to add additions. Chunk up some high-quality chocolate to add into the jar mix, and better yet -- make some easy homemade marshmallows to go alongside. For this gift set, Alton Brown's cocoa was joined with a bag of Martha Stewart's Candy Cane Marshmallows and an added perk of homemade candy cane bites for a Candy Cane Cocoa gift set.

Just pick your theme and run wild with marshmallows, candies, simple syrup mixes, mugs, and all the goodies that go well with hot cocoa.