Cocoa Cone for One - Tutorial

I've done regular cocoa cones for many years adding them to homemade Christmas gifts because they are great fillers, and can add height and bulk when needed. Plus they are easy and fast and fairly inexpensive to make.  For a photo how-to on a regular cocoa cone (click here) and then click on each individual photo for the step by step I made for my eldest daughter.
This year however I wanted to make something different. Something cute and inexpensive to hold just a single serving of cocoa.

Here is what I came up with. I think it's cute, and it's certainly inexpensive. And they can be made year round just by changing the color of icing and sprinkles.

 This is my version of the chocolate dipped ice cream cone that's been around forever. But instead of filling it with ice cream, I filled it with the dry ingredients for making one cup of cocoa.

I forgot to take photos while I was decorating the cones, but basically I just piped around the upper rim of the cone with thick royal icing letting it drip slowly down the outside and added sprinkles. I let these dry overnight.
This can also be done using melted chocolate, but I'm all about finding ways not to throw away leftover cookie icing.
I was going to try and make homemade marshmallows swirled to look like soft serve ice cream as that would make it look even more like an ice cream cone, but I already have enough on my Holiday to-do list without adding more.



For the bottom part of the cocoa cone I used a single serving of cocoa mix, a cheap sandwich baggie (these are more flexible) and a twist tie. 

I drape the baggie over a small glass and carefully pour in the cocoa mix trying not to get too far up the sides. (you don't want cocoa adhering to the plastic above where the twist tie will go).  

Tightly twist the tie around the bag and cut off the excess of the tie as well as the baggie, leaving about an inch.







Shown in the photo above are the ingredients I used to make the top part of the cocoa cone, as well as a sandwich baggie, and a twist tie.

You can substitute about 15-20 mini marshmallows for the marshmallow bits and regular chocolate chips for the mini ones. This is just a general guideline as I'm sure you'll add your own unique touches to these. Depending on the cone size you may have to adjust the ingredient amounts as well.

Note: I suggest doing a practice one to see how it sets in the cone and adjust the ingredients accordingly.

As for the type of marshmallows and size of chocolate chips I'm using I just like the way the bits and minis handled and settled better into the baggie. The marshmallow bits are made by Kraft, and they are much smaller than mini marshmallows. They come in a plastic jar and and they taste and feel like those colored shapes in Lucky Charms cereal, but will soften in the hot cocoa. 

Center a corner point of the baggie over a small glass and drop in a a red candy ball (I used a pretzel m&m),  then add just a pinch of the sprinkles leaving the rest for later. Next add all of the marshmallow bits and very slightly tap the glass to settle everything.

Add the remaining sprinkles over the top of the marshmallow bits tapping the glass to distribute them evenly. Lastly add the mini chocolate chips. Take out the baggie and tightly tie a twist tie to secure, cutting off the excess twist tie and baggie leaving about an inch.

 Take a decorated cone and drop a baggie of cocoa mix into the bottom tucking down the end of the baggie. Add the marshmallow/chocolate chip baggie by placing it into the cone "cherry" side up.

These are now ready to be placed in a cello bag with a ribbon, or another container of your choice. Remember the top baggie is just setting on top, so take that into consideration when bagging these and tie the ribbon close to the top of the cherry to hold it all together.

 Almost ready to go.

I've placed the wrapped cocoa cone into a holiday mug. I adjusted the height by adding tissue paper to the bottom because this mug was so tall, and I wanted the cone to show above the rim. I've also added wrapped chocolate candies, candy canes and a chocolate covered spoon.

This will all be placed in a small gift bag, labeled and then it will be ready to go.

Don't forget to add instructions to your tags.

Something like this: Stir cocoa mix into 3/4 cup of hot water mixing well. Add chocolate chips, marshmallows and sprinkles. Save out the red candy ball to eat while enjoying your hot cocoa.

(Read the directions that are printed on your cocoa mix for the correct amount of water or milk as this might vary from mix to mix).

The cone itself can also be eaten of course. 

♥ Happy Decorating ♥