Forget about the watery hot cocoa with dehydrated marshmallows you sipped as a kid. Our “instant” hot cocoa recipe is creamy, rich, and big on chocolate flavor.

Test Kitchen Discoveries:

• Nonfat dry milk adds a sweet dairy flavor to the cocoa, especially if you reconstitute the mix with hot milk instead of hot water.

• Confectioners’ sugar works best in this recipe. It dissolves quickly and the cornstarch (an ingredient manufacturers add to the sugar to prevent clumping) helps thicken the cocoa.

• White chocolate provided our cocoa with a soft, creamy texture and pushes the chocolate flavor to new heights.

Best-Ever Hot Cocoa Mix Makes about 20 servings

• 3 cups nonfat dry milk
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Combine ingredients in large bowl. Working in two batches, pulse ingredients in food processor until chocolate is finely ground. Store in airtight container for up to 3 months. To make hot cocoa, stir 1/3 cup of this mix into 1 cup of hot milk. Top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows.