This hot chocolate on a stick recipe was originally published in November 2009 and was one of the first very popular posts here on Foodie with Family. Join the many people who have made this a part of their holiday gift giving tradition!
This is one of the most clever ideas I’ve seen out of the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Circle lately. (And they’re no creative slouches over at King Arthur.) In the most recent e-newsletter* from their test kitchen they included a recipe for Cocoa Blocks.
*If you’d like to receive their free e-newsletter, you can click this link and look for the sign-up box in the lower right hand corner of the page.
Oh sweet merciful heavens. Cocoa blocks. Very utilitarian name, no? Nothing against my King Arthur folks, because I really do love them, but I think the name doesn’t do justice to these little beauties. I’ve renamed them. Henceforth, they shall be called Hot Chocolate On A Stick.
Hot Chocolate on a Stick is a creamy chocolate confection that is much like an ultra-rich fudge. You can, as the new title indicates, put these blocks of chocolatey goodness on sticks for ease in swirling it in hot milk or nibbling.
You can simply leave the squares alone and stir them into your hot drinks. Or you can go another step, as I am wont to do, and skewer a marshmallow on top of the block of chocolate.
And since we’re playing with marshmallows already, why not make them homemade marshmallows? That opens up the possibilities of all kinds of decadent flavor combinations; mocha chocolate with cocoa marshmallows, orange chocolate with vanilla marshmallows, plain chocolate with raspberry marshmallows, or pure chocolate and vanilla marshmallows.
So if you combine luscious, velvety, rich fudge with light-as-air homemade marshmallows it should follow that what you’ve created is heavenly. And it is. Oh, it is!
Not to put too fine a point on it, but having these in my kitchen was the only thing standing between me and a potential sale of my children to the circus early career apprenticeship commitment for my children. I hid in the bathroom with a ‘Hot Chocolate on a Stick’ and nibbled my irritation away.
I could’ve taken a cup of hot milk to the bathroom with me, but I was in a hurry, people. I needed the chocolate and I needed it fast.
The kids, on the other hand, found the stash while I was hiding (and small price to pay for the peace it brought me) and stirred theirs into hot cups of milk. I hear tell that they enjoyed it immensely. The chocolate rings around their mouths bore out their testimony.
Kid tested. Mother approved.
May I recommend that you whip up a batch or two or three of these? Keep one batch for yourself. Wrap one batch in plastic and pretty ribbons for gift-giving. And that last batch?
Well, give it away one at a time to your kids’ teachers, bus drivers, your preacher, the mail carrier, the elderly man or woman down the road who lost their spouse this year, the gal in the apartment two doors down who looks a little lonely, or anyone else who looks like they could use a good dose of seasonal cheer.
Do I need Homemade Marshmallows for Hot Chocolate on a Stick?
Not strictly. If you’re super freaked out by making homemade marshmallows, you can purchase marshmallows and skewer them on top of the fudge. I do think it’s infinitely tastier if you use homemade marshmallows, though.
Make Hot Chocolate on a Stick
Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!
Ingredients:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate (3 cups chopped chocolate bars or chips)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces)
- wooden sticks, lollipop sticks, candy canes or bamboo skewers
- optional, crushed candy canes, marshmallows and/or cocoa powder
- Line an 8 x 8-inch pan or a 9 x 9-inch pan with foil and set aside.
- Combine the cream and sweetened condensed milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it is steaming, but not boiling, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.
- Add all of the chocolate and remove from the heat. Allow the chocolate to melt, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, whisk firmly until it is thick and shiny. You can add a few drops of flavoring extract or oil at this point, or add some powdered espresso or vanilla. Whisk vigorously again to incorporate the flavoring (if used.)
- Use a rubber or silicone spatula to spread the mixture out evenly in your prepared, foil-lined pan.
- Allow to cool at room temperature 12 hours or overnight so that it firms slowly.
- Take the fudge from the pan and remove the foil. Place on a cutting board.
- Using a knife heated with hot water and wiped dry, cut the fudge into 16 equal-sized cubes. You can either stick a lollipop stick (or candy cane) into the center of each block or leave as is. Additionally, you can press the cut sides of the fudge into crushed candy canes, roll them in cocoa powder or top with marshmallows.
- Eat immediately or wrap tightly and store at room temperature.
Hot Chocolate on a Stick Cook’s Notes
- This may sound silly, but be sure you’re using sweetened condensed milk and not evaporated milk for your fudge squares. You would not believe how many people have made this mistake then wondered why their fudge would not set.
- Make sure you remove the cream and sweetened condensed milk pan from the heat before you add the chocolate.
- Don’t feel obligated to top these with homemade marshmallows (although it is divine.) You can top the cooled, cut fudge squares with store bought marshmallows when you skewer them.
- If you’re foregoing homemade marshmallows, you can also plonk a layer of mini marshmallows onto the top of your fudge when it is still hot and press them lightly into place.
- I recommend wrapping these individually with plastic wrap or treats bags. Store them at room temperature once wrapped.
Hot Chocolate on a Stick
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/4 cups
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate 3 cups chopped chocolate bars or chips
- 3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate 4 ounces
- wooden sticks lollipop sticks, candy canes or bamboo skewers
Optional:
- 1 batch homemade marshmallows cut to same size as fudge recipe below
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8-inch pan or a 9 x 9-inch pan with foil and set aside.
- Combine the cream and sweetened condensed milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it is steaming, but not boiling, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.
- Add all of the chocolate and remove from the heat. Allow the chocolate to melt, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, whisk firmly until it is thick and shiny. You can add a few drops of flavoring extract or oil at this point, or add some powdered espresso or vanilla. Whisk vigorously again to incorporate the flavoring (if used.)
- Use a rubber or silicone spatula to spread the mixture out evenly in your prepared, foil-lined pan. Allow to cool at room temperature 12 hours or overnight so that it firms slowly.
- Take the fudge from the pan and remove the foil. Place on a cutting board.
- Using a knife heated with hot water and wiped dry, cut the fudge into 16 equal-sized cubes.
- Wrap tightly and store at room temperature.
Optional:
- Top each cube of fudge with a homemade marshmallow, then stick a lollipop stick (or candy cane) into the center of each block and wrap tightly. Store at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
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This post was originally posted in November 2009, then republished in 2011 (In Loving Memory of Evelyn “Patti” Worthington.) Updated in December 2018 with updated instructions, photos, and Cook’s Notes.
Reader's Thoughts...
Josie says
Hello. I have made this recipe many times before and don’t remember the chocolate to be super sticky. What did i do wrong?