Home > Beverages > Hot Chocolate Bar Hot Chocolate Bar December 18, 2018 | 13 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. How to build a Hot Chocolate Bar: everything you need for the set-up, plus tons of topping ideas and delicious hot chocolate recipe ideas! Make sure to check out my staple Pumpkin Spice Latte Steamer recipe and enjoy a Snickerdoodle Cookie while you plan the most epic hot chocolate bar! Hot Chocolate Bar It’s been an especially busy Christmas season around here because we’ve all been helping to plan my sister’s wedding. While she’s been finishing up her finals, crazy-busy with work, and applying to graduate schools, my mom has been helping out and DIY-ing like crazy for her wedding. I got put on baking prep duty this week and I’ve already made over 500 miniature snowflake sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Her entire wedding theme is Frozen/wintery. She’s got different shades of blue and lots of white + silver. The venue is going to be gorgeous! The main food attraction? A Hot Chocolate Bar! And plenty of cookies to go along with the hot chocolate, of course. It was such a fun idea that I couldn’t help but make my own little Hot Chocolate Bar to share with you all. While my bar isn’t as elaborate as her wedding one will be, it is perfect to have a few friends over, to do for a shower (can you tell I have weddings on my mind?!), or just enjoy with your own family. Items needed for a Hot Chocolate Bar Individual hot chocolate cups or plenty of mugs: I ordered the cups, lids, and cup sleeves all on Amazon. If you are interested, here’s exactly what I ordered. Hot hocolate (of course) Toppings (See below!) And, not necessarily needs, but…your Hot Chocolate Bar is begging for: Little mini wooden scoops (for the topping containers): Found here. Wooden stir sticks for the hot cocoa here. Small chalkboard signs I found both pictured in these photos in the wedding aisle at Wal-Mart. Candles/tea lights set a fun mood Glass topping containers: I like putting the toppings in glass containers for visual effect. Delicious toppings Miniature chocolate chips Crushed toffee (Heath®) bars, found in the baking aisle Miniature peppermint sticks, found in the seasonal aisle Regular peppermint sticks, seasonal aisle Variety of holiday sprinkles, seasonal and baking aisle Lindt® truffles, candy aisle Pirouette® Cookies, seasonal aisle and cookie/snack aisle Peppermint white chocolate crunch, seasonal and baking aisle Caramel bits, baking aisle Miniature white marshmallows + miniature peppermint marshmallows, baking aisle Dehydrated marshmallows, coffee/hot chocolate aisle Cinnamon sticks, near spices and occasionally in seasonal aisle Coffee creamers, refrigerated aisle near milk Whipped topping, refrigerated aisle near milk Caramel syrup, dessert aisle Hot fudge sauce, dessert aisle Don’t feel like you need all these toppings for your Hot Chocolate Bar? Even a few will make it fun! Recipe ideas Standard hot chocolate: This is my favorite go-to hot chocolate recipe. Peppermint stick hot chocolate: Hot chocolate base, peppermint stick ice cream, whipped topping, crushed peppermint. Add a generous spoonful of peppermint stick ice cream in the cocoa. Top it with a generous dollop of whipped topping plus some crushed peppermint and stir it all together. Crockpot toasted marshmallow hot chocolate: See the written recipe and video tutorial below! Hot chocolate heaven: Hot chocolate base plus one Lindt truffle. Stir in the truffle and enjoy! Orange or raspberry hot chocolate: Add a few drops of orange extract or raspberry extract to your cup of hot chocolate. When presenting a Hot Chocolate Bar, I recommend having a standard hot cocoa recipe and then letting the guests pick their own varieties by using the toppings you’ve set out. FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Crockpot Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate 5 from 3 votes - Review this recipe How to build a Hot Chocolate Bar: everything you need for the set-up + tons of topping ideas + delicious hot chocolate recipe ideas! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Crockpot Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate 5 from 3 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe How to build a Hot Chocolate Bar: everything you need for the set-up + tons of topping ideas + delicious hot chocolate recipe ideas! Course Dessert, Drinks Cuisine American Keyword hot chocolate bar Prep Time 15 minutes minutes Cook Time 3 hours hours Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes Servings 8 -10 beverages Chelsea Lords Calories 643kcal Author Chelsea Lords Ingredients▢ 2 packages (4 ounces EACH) semi-sweet baking bars, (milk or dark chocolate for very rich cocoa, or about 2 and 1/4 cups chocolate chips)▢ 6 cups milk (not skim. Use 1%, 2%, or whole)▢ 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (not whipped)▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract▢ Pinch of fine sea salt▢ 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk▢ 2 and 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows InstructionsChop the chocolate bars to the size of chocolate chips. Alternatively, use chocolate chips.Add the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the slow cooker. (I use a 6-quart cooker and it gets over 1/2 full)Add in the milk, (I use 1 or 2% --whole would be ultra-rich), heavy whipping cream, vanilla, salt, and the can of sweetened condensed milk.Stir together and set on low in the crockpot.For the toasted marshmallow: preheat the oven to Broil at 550 degrees F. Move the oven rack to the highest position.Cover a baking sheet with foil and then generously spray the foil with non-stick spray.Lay the marshmallows evenly on top of the foil.Place in the oven on the top rack and leave the oven door slightly ajar. Watch the marshmallows the entire time and pull them out when they look toasted. Watch carefully because they can go from perfectly toasted to burned very quickly!Remove and then add into the hot chocolate. Stir and cover.Cook on low for 2-3 hours or until all the chocolate and marshmallows are melted.Carefully transfer the mixture (in 2-3 batches) to a blender.Blend each batch for at least 30 seconds. This allows a great immersion and a delicious frothier texture.Return to the slow cooker and keep on warm for guests. Video Recipe NotesThis hot chocolate stores well. Transfer to an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to enjoy you will likely need to blend the mixture again and then just warm it up. This can be made 2-3 days in advance. Nutrition FactsCalories: 643kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 623mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 1099IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 395mg | Iron: 2mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
OMIGOSH! 1-your sister’s wedding sounds amazing and I hope everything is perfect!!!! I would love to see pics! 2-these 2 hot cocoa recipes are fabulous, they look so so sooo delish! 3-HOT CHOCOLATE BAR OMG LOVE IT NEED IT Reply
I know what you mean, Xmas is sneaking up on us!! This hot chocolate bar is such a cute idea!! Love the photos. Reply
These photos are gorgeous! I am so jealous of this hot chocolate bar… sounds incredible and so creative!! Looking forward to seeing some photos Reply
Amazon! 🙂 https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Stix-Scoop-3–10ct/dp/B00HZANQOK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450446352&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+wooden+scoops Reply
Thanks for the quick reply! Do you know the size (either ounces or dimensions) and are they glass/plastic and are they pedestal? Sorry for all the questions! I’m trying to put this together for my baby sprinkle and since I need to order online, am having a hard time figuring what containers work best. Thank you!! Reply