Gift Giving Mixes : Chocolate Gravy

In the age of outlandish holidays with ever growing price tags, just about everyone appreciates a heartfelt gift personally made for them. Gift mixes are an excellent way of doing this.

Baked goods are always well liked, but mixes offer even more time saving convenience on the part of the giver and give the receiver an opportunity to have some special time in their kitchen. Even people who work full time can squeeze in time to prepare a special treat if they have a mix!

Now, before you start doubting the value of your gift of a mix, check the price tags of some ready made mixes in specialty gift shops and such. My grandmother once bought an apple crisp mix in a bag for $8.00! It was enough to make an 8×8 dish and tasted exactly like my apple crisp. I like to mentally place a monetary value on the gifts I give, in order to make sure I am giving gifts of equal value to my child’s teachers and such. I consider this to be at least a five dollar value, in case you needed a guide.

Chocolate gravy makes an ideal mix to give. Those familiar with it instantly respond with widened eyes and “ooh’s” and “aah’s”. Those unfamiliar with it are intrigued and anxious to taste this chocolatey concoction. Another plus? When was the last time you saw chocolate gravy mix for sale anywhere? You’ve got the added bonus of rarity on your side as well!

My original post on Chocolate Gravy, including step by step photos of how to make it, can be found here.

Each time I bring you a mix, I am going to show you several inexpensive wrapping options as well as providing you with printer ready gift tags(note that these are two sided)!

Now, on to chocolate gravy….

You’ll need: All purpose flour, white sugar, and cocoa powder.
In bowl, place 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons flour, and one cup sugar.
Mix that up well
Until it looks like this. There, your mix is done! Now lets prettify it a bit!
I went out gallavantin’ and bought some inexpensive supplies for packaging these mixes I’m going to bring you. All of the fabric you see came at $2.00 a yard from Wal Mart.  I got six spools of ribbon from Big Lots for $2.00, and a package of eight small gift bags for $3.00. The Raffia also came from Wallie World, it was two dollars as well.

Do you see these party bags? I get them in the party section at wal mart and try to ALWAYS have them on hand. Their uses are limitless. They make great packaging for small loaves of banana bread or a few cookies if you are sending them as gifts. You can use the enclosed twist ties or curling ribbon to seal them, your choice. They are also ideal for party favors or any other baked goods or small gift items. I buy them in a bag of twenty for a dollar and some change. I highly recommend you look for and purchase them now as they run low often.

Plain old zipper seal sandwich bags are a must have as well. I like to place my mix in them to seal it and then package.

First, we’re going to place our mix in a sandwich bag and get all of the air out before sealing.
Now fold over the top and tape it shut.
This was one of my favorite ways to wrap this.
I cut a small square of fabric and cut all around the edges with pinking shears.
Then simply rolled it up like a burrito.
Tie curling ribbon on each end and look how pretty!
Two more ideas are to place your sealed mix in a party bag or fill a 1/2 pint mason jar with the mix.
1/2 a pint will hold exactly one recipe of chocolate gravy.
For the jarred mix, get a cereal bowl (I am using a standard Corelle bowl) and place it upside down to trace on the wrong side of some Christmas fabric.
Cut out with pinking shears.
Until you have a nice circle of cloth.
Remove the screw band and center the fabric over the top of your jar, on top of the lid.
like this.
oooh another pretty one!

Or you can simply place your jar inside a small gift bag and attach some curling ribbon or raffia to it.

But the simplest of all is to simply put your sealed bag of mix inside a clear cellophane party bag and tie with curling ribbon. 🙂
 
Now, you can either type up and print out your own tags, or visit here to print mine! These tags include the front side as shown in addition to a back side which gives the entire recipe for Chocolate Gravy!

Chocolate Gravy Mix

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 T flour
  • 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Seal and package for gift giving, including a tag with the above instructions.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!
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HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Gratefully,
Stacey Lynn
 

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:
the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

~Burton Hillis

 

 

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120 Comments

  1. Christy, You don’t know how right you are about Happy Family’s. My husband is 65 yrs. old and I am 62 yrs. old. He has Asbetosis from working on concrete trucks for 30 years (breaks mainly), COPD, Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetis,along with other health problems. As for me, I have Diabetis, Congestive Heart Failure,COPD, enphysemia, I can’t stand over two minutes, I can’t walk to my bathroom and back and breathe.
    We can’t either one of us cook anymore, I have to be in an electric chair, I have fallen 4 times in the past 3 or 4 months. Blacked my eye twice, cut my left arm from my shoulder to my elbow and bleed on everything. David couldn’t get me up by himself and called the lady that helps us so very much to come down (at 2:30am) and help him to dress my arm. The sad part; we have 4 healthy, grown children, 2 of each, all grown and married, 3 live in our state, in driving distance for something for Christmas. We raised our oldest grand daughter from the time she was 3 days old. In June of this year, she decided she wanted to live with her mother and was tired of helping us. We asked each family for a family picture of each. I can tell you right now we won’t get it. There was not one called and told us Happy Thanksgiving. The grand daughter did call.
    We always looked forward to when we had grand kids and every one would all pile in here and have a wonderful time together. It will never happen. Christy I know this is not what your comments section, when I read the saying, I just had to write and let everyone know, it doesn’t matter how many pile in, 1 or 10, enjoy it. Thanks for letting me say this and I hope everyone that reads this has the most wonderful time of their lives.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !!
    Warddean

    1. Warddean,
      I was so touched by your note. Thank you for reaching out. I am so sorry you’re experiencing this. I will be praying that He heals your bodies and fills your heart with HIS love and peace. I thank the Lord you have your friend that helps you. Take care this Christmas and know that you have someone praying for you.

  2. I love chocolate gravy and we used to beg momma to make it for us! Those were the good times! As kids we put chocolate gravy over our fried potatoes ( sounds icky now but we thought it was so good back then!) Thanks for sharing all of homemade goodie ideas and how to wrap them. I really appreciate that, since I didn’t get the gift wrapping gene that most ladies have! 🙂

  3. This post brings to mind an old story about how I used to ask for ‘white gravy on white bread’. Seems my grandma, Nanny, used to serve me slices of angle food cake with cool whip on top! Sure wish that she had made some of the chocolate gravy mentioned in your article…
    When Nanny passed away, the family favorite recipe passed with her. We still long for her hot dinner rolls. They were tender pillows of yeasty goodness. Any good suggestions for these? I have searched high and low for something comparable and haven’t even really come close. She also made the best crabapple jelly you ever put on a biscuit!

  4. Oh the memories this brings back. My grandma used to make this on the weekends. I’ve tried to get the receipe for YEARS. Thank you. My husbands family thinks I’m crazy but this one is up there with Tomato Gravy. Goodness makes me hungry just thinking about them. LOL

  5. My aunt use to make this for us. I always wanted to go and spend the night so I could have homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy. I made some for my five year old and he loved it. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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