It’s a yearly tradition in my house to make cocoa mint Christmas soap. With cocoa butter, peppermint, and cocoa powder, this recipe is a delicious smelling, beautiful looking soap that really brings in the holidays!
You can buy some in my shop during the Holidays.
It definitely looks like a delicious fudge. In fact, I remember years ago when one of my sons came into the kitchen after I took them out of the mold and exclaimed, “Yes! Fudge!” I told him it was soap and he looked so disappointed. We made homemade peppermint patties as another fun activity to do together instead. I have a great (and simple) recipe for those that I’ll have to share soon.
If you’re new at making soap, head over to soap making 101 to get started on the basics. You can also get my book, Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners, which is extremely thorough.
Like I mentioned above, I make this soap every year around the holidays. You’re welcome to head over to my shop and get some there before making your own.
Cocoa Mint Christmas Soap
This Christmas soap recipe makes 2 pounds of soap, or 8 four-ounce bars.
Items Needed:
- stainless steel pot
- 2 large stainless steel spoons (one for the oils, one for the lye)
- plastic container (or another pot) for lye water
- plastic zip close bag for lye
- safety gear for dealing with lye (glasses, mask, gloves)
- cooking thermometer (one for the oils, one for the lye)
- stick blender or mixer
- kitchen scale
- bowls to measure all your ingredients in
- soap mold
Instructions for Making Cocoa Mint Soap
Weigh and then and put your lard, coconut oil, and olive oil into your pot. Melt these to a liquid. Turn off the burner and remove the pot from the heat and cool until the oils are around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Weigh the lye in the zip close bag and the water in a small container.
Lye is not something to be afraid of but is something to be careful with. You should wear gloves when handling it and add long sleeves and a mask when pouring it into water. The chemical reaction causes heat and fumes to be given off for a few minutes as it dissolves. I always pour my lye into water inside my garage, because we have a lot of animals around the property and I have had one try and drink out of it before.
In a well-ventilated place away from children and animals, mix lye into water. Stir until the lye is dissolved, then let the lye water cool to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
When both lye and oils are at 90 degrees Fahrenheit, pour the lye into the oils and mix with a stick blender on and off until the soap begins to thicken. This is called trace.
When soap reaches trace (mine only took about 5 minutes with the blender, so watch carefully), add peppermint essential oil and blend until fully blended.
Remove 1/2 cup of soap to a separate bowl and add the cocoa powder to it. Whisk until there are no lumps.
Line your mold with parchment or wax paper if needed, then pour the white soap into the prepared mold. Drizzle the cocoa soap on top back and forth until you’ve made stripes. Insert a knife or chop stick into one corner and pull back and forth in the opposite direction that you poured the cocoa soap. This will create a beautiful design.
The photo below is from my first batch. I don’t recommend making soap in glass. It’s very difficult to get out. Instead, use a soap mold or a box (even a chip tube works wonderfully).
Cover and insulate the soap for at least 24 hours. After the 24 hours, remove the soap from the mold and cut it into 8 soap bars. Set the bars in a cool, dry location for 3-6 weeks to harden and cure. You can use before this time period is up, but they will be a little softer and won’t last as long.
Cocoa Mint Christmas Soap
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces tallow
- 7 ounces olive oil
- 6 ounces coconut oil
- 7.4 ounces water
- 3.3 ounces lye
- 2 tablepoons cocoa powder
- 0.7 ounces peppermint essential oil
Instructions
- Combine tallow, olive oil, and coconut oil in a large stainless steel pot. Melt over medium low heat and allow to cool to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.10 ounces tallow, 7 ounces olive oil, 6 ounces coconut oil
- Weigh lye in a zip close bag and set aside. Weigh water in a small glass or plastic bowl. Put on protective gloves, goggles, and a charcoal mask and take the lye, water, and a spoon outside to a location where no pets or children can touch the lye water. Pour the lye into the water and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.7.4 ounces water, 3.3 ounces lye
- When both oils and lye waters are at the correct temperatures, pour the lye water into the oils and blend on and off until light trace (it begins to thicken).
- Add essential oils and blend.0.7 ounces peppermint essential oil
- Remove 1/2 cup of soap into a separate bowl. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.2 tablepoons cocoa powder
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the white soap into a prepared mold. Take the chocolate soap and drizzle back and forth over the top of the soap. Use a knife or dowel rod inserted into the mold in one corner to pull the soap back and forth down the mold to make a swirl design.
- Cover the soap and insulate if necessary for 24 hours. If the soap is not hard enough to remove from the mold, wait another 24 hours. Then remove the soap, cut, and cure for 3-6 weeks until hard.
You can buy some in my shop during the Holidays.
Here are more Christmas Soap Recipes:
- 9 Christmas Soap Recipes
- 6 Christmas Soap Recipes
- Champaign Soap Recipe
- Candy Cane Soap Recipe
- Frankincense and Myrrh Soap Recipe
Enjoy!
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