Chocolate Malt Drink or Coffee Creamer Mix-12 Days of Easy Sweets

12 Days of Easy Sweets

My favorite milkshake-type drink when I was growing up was a chocolate malt.  I still love malt flavor today  This mix is a great last-minute gift that can be given by itself, but is also nice to give with a gift of cookies or other baked goods.  If I am presenting this by itself, I usually put it in a pint-size jar.  If giving with cookies, I like to use recycled Smucker’s Ice Cream Topping jars.  They hold enough to make 5 servings if the mix is used as a stand-alone beverage, more if the mix is used as a coffee creamer.

The malt flavor is rather subtle, use more chocolate malted milk powder if a more pronounced malt flavor is desired.  Chocolate flavor malted milk powder is somewhat difficult to find here so I have used regular malted milk power also.  Malt flavor Olvatine can also be used instead of the malted milk powder if desired.  I use milk chocolate flavor instant cocoa mix, but regular chocolate flavor can be used for more pronounced chocolate flavor. 

Chocolate Malt Drink or Coffee Creamer Mix
2 c. instant hot cocoa mix
2/3 c. regular powdered nondairy coffee creamer
1 c. or more regular or chocolate malted milk powder or malt flavor Olvatine

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended.  Store in an air-tight container.  To use as a beverage, stir 3 tablespoons into 8-oz. of hot water or hot milk.  To use as a coffee creamer, use 1 tablespoon to 8-oz. hot coffee.

Chocolate Magic Marshmallow Buns-Dessert Challenge

It is a New Year and a new series of Dessert Challenges at Lady Behind the Curtain.  Sheryl hosts this challenge, and each month she picks two ingredients that must be included in a new dessert recipe you post.  This month’s ingredients are cocoa mix and marshmallows
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Since I am on my self-imposed Eat from the Pantry Challenge, I looked around to see what I had on hand to include in a recipe.  I had the cocoa mix and the marshmallows.  After thinking about it, I remembered a recipe that was a winner in a Pillsbury Bake-Off many years ago.  It involved wrapping crescent rolls around marshmallows and baking them.  Today there are variations of that recipe all over the internet
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I wondered if, instead of dipping the marshmallows in melted butter and rolling them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture, I could borrow a technique from my Nutty Marshmallow recipe and dip the marshmallows in hot milk and roll them in the hot cocoa mix.  I figured that it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

One caution, the crescent rolls must be very tightly sealed or the marshmallow will leak out while the buns are baking.  For easy clean-up, line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Some recipes have the buns baked in muffin cups.  If you do this, I would grease the muffin cups very thoroughly
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Since there are only two of use, I used one can of crescent rolls.  The recipe can easily be doubled, but it is not necessary to double the amount of milk.

The buns are best served warm, so if there are leftovers, I suggest reheating them in a microwave for about 15 seconds.

Chocolate Magic Marshmallow Buns
1/2 c. milk
1 can crescent rolls
8 marshmallows
1 envelope hot cocoa drink mix
toothpicks
1/3 . powdered sugar, sifted or put through a sieve

Place milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot.  Meanwhile open can and separate crescent rolls into wedges.  Place wedges on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Open envelope of cocoa mix and pour mix into a shallow pan.  Using a toothpick, dip a marshmallow into the hot milk.  You may have to tip the saucepan a bit to cover the marshmallow.  Roll marshmallow in the cocoa mix.  Place marshmallow on the wide end of crescent roll wedge.  Roll wedge around the marshmallow and bring sides together to seal tightly.  Repeat for remaining marshmallows and crescent roll wedges.  Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  While buns are baking make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, any cocoa mix leftover from rolling the marshmallows and 1 T. of the milk the marshmallows were dipped in.  Mix until well combined.  Remove buns from oven and let cool slightly.  Brush buns with the glaze.  Serve warm.  Makes 8.  Store any leftover buns tightly covered.  Buns may be reheated for 15 seconds in the microwave.  Enjoy!

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have made with cocoa mix and marshmallows.  If you would like to join in the fun of Dessert Challenge next month, you can find all out the information at Sheryl's Dessert Challenge page.