Nan Goes From Nam to Nash: The Second Annual Christmas Pajama Party: The Hot Chocolate Bar

My favorite weekend each year is the one in which the annual Christmas Pajama Party and Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God" concert coincide. While I'll save the latter for a future post, I wanted to give you all a taste (get it?) of this year's party.

This year was the Second Annual Christmas Pajama Party. It's a convenient excuse to gather together three things that I love most: friends, food, and thematic pjs. Dear friends from near and far arrive in their comfiest pajamas, snuggle together to watch Christmas movies, and indulge in unnecessary amounts of treats and sweet.

~~Not so secretly~~ Secretly, it's also an excuse for me to try out new Christmas recipes on all my friends. I've been clipping and pinning and gathering recipes for this year's party all year long. What better way to share in the joy of newfound recipes than to share them here with you in a series of blog posts?

My favorite part of this year's party was the Hot Chocolate Bar, not just because it's a play on words, but also because hot chocolate is one of my very favorite things during these chilly fall and winter months.

Did you know the difference between Chocolate and Cocoa is that hot chocolate is made from actual shaved pieces of chocolate, while cocoa is made from a powdery mix? Both types have the potential to be very rich, but this year I opted to serve hot chocolate instead of classic Swiss Miss cocoa. Grace friend Amy had generously gifted an extra package of medium blend that she had bought from a place in Chicago called Hot Chocolate (perfect, right?). Amazingly, we drank the entire package in under 30 minutes, so I had to hunt out my hot chocolate reserves. We finished out the night serving a mix of Caribou Milk Hot Chocolate and Williams-Sonoma Classic and Peppermint Hot Chocolates. Decadent like whoa.

In addition to the drink itself, the Hot Chocolate Bar included homemade marshmallows, chocolate dipping spoons, Pirouettes, miniature chocolate chips, store-bought mini-marshmallows, chocolate sprinkles, whipped cream, and peppermint schnapps. It also included our wide assortment of unique mugs, which we all love dearly.

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe courtesy of Grace friend Wendy Stallings

Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (oops...forgot to add that)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Directions:
Place the gelatin into a bowl (of a stand mixer, if you have one. I used a hand mixer because I'm not married yet) along with 1/2 cup of the water.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover, and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7-8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12-15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping (again, I forgot this and they turned out okay - but I wouldn't skip it again). While the mixture is whipping prepare the pan.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13x9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel or knife dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

I recently received the best dirty santa gift ever from my friend Mallory - Ninjabread Men cookie cutters! Of course, we used these to cut up some of the marshmallows and called them Kung Fu Mallows.

The Hot Chocolate Bar also included some Chocolate Dipping Spoons that I made with Amy. If I had children, these would be so fun to make - and possibly even more fun and satisfying than decorating sugar cookies!

Chocolate Dipping Spoons

To be used for dipping in hot chocolate...or to be eaten alone.

Ingredients:

Plastic spoons

Assorted chocolate chips (I used one bag of dark chocolate, one bag of semisweet, and half a bag of white chocolate)

Assorted toppings (I used mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, crushed candy canes and powdered sugar)

Wax paper

Directions:

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in individual bowls by type. For each one, initially heat it for 30 seconds on high and then stir. Continue melting on high in 10-second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring between each time. Each type of chocolate has a different melting point; do not over-heat it or the chocolate will seize.

Dip each spoon into the chocolate, making sure both sides of the spoon are covered. Set spoon on wax paper and decorate immediately. Put spoons in the refrigerator until set (about 30 minutes).

Stir in hot chocolate or eat like lollipops!

We decorated our dipping spoons like snowmen, Christmas trees, drizzled in various other chocolates, with sprinkles, with powdered sugar as snow, and more.