Hot chocolate bombs are arguably the biggest trend in sweet treats right now! As soon as I saw my first hot cocoa bomb video on Instagram, I knew I had to try them! After some experimentation, I came up with the following basic information regarding sizes, techniques, and fun flavors.
I also made a video covering all of the information contained in this post, so make sure to check it out!
Disclosure: There are Amazon affiliate links provided in the post below. If you click on any of the Amazon links and make a purchase, I do get a small percentage of the sale which helps me pay for my ingredients and my website. I genuinely use anything that I link, and I want to make it easy for you to find these ingredients and kitchen tools, too, if you want to utilize them!
Hot Cocoa Bomb Basics:
- The Chocolate: Tempered chocolate is certainly the best option, so if you know how to temper chocolate, I highly recommend that you use that! Tempered chocolate gives the finished product a gorgeous shine and does not melt on your hands while you hold it. I have yet to successfully temper chocolate, although I am optimistic that it will definitely happen someday soon! Until then, I have a chocolate hack: Ghirardelli Melting Wafers. Like tempered chocolate, these give you a lovely shine and melt nicely when pouring hot liquid over the top! They do start to slightly melt in your hand if you hold them for too long, but that’s pretty much the only downside to this chocolate option. I buy large bags at Sam’s Club (when they have them available), but you can also find them in this link to purchase on Amazon:
2. Sizing: I decided to make 2 different sizes for my hot cocoa bombs after some experimentation. The large ones are great for larger cups in which you add 12-16 oz. of hot liquid. The smaller ones, on the other hand, are great for smaller mugs in which you add 6-8 oz. of hot liquid. You can find the molds that I use in the Amazon link provided here:
3. How to make it extra fun: Hot cocoa bombs are cool, but I wanted to make them a little more reactive when you add your hot liquid. Therefore, I add Culinary Crystals, which are basically unflavored Pop Rocks (a.k.a. one of the most fun candies from your childhood). I add these into my hot cocoa bombs because as they are exposed to liquids, they pop and fizz, which makes the hot chocolate bombs even more enjoyable! These are another awesome Amazon purchase, so you can find a link right here:
4. Liquid choice: You can certainly use milk to make your regular hot chocolate, but for all of you fellow coffee drinkers out there, I highly recommend adding hot coffee to make it a mocha! Not only is it obviously delicious, but coffee also holds heat better than milk, so it does a better job of melting the shell of the hot cocoa bomb!
5. A fifth point I thought of after filming is that instead of pouring hot coffee onto your hot cocoa bomb, you can easily turn the bombs themselves into mocha bombs by simply adding a little bit of instant coffee. All the flavors I’m sharing in this video can easily be turned into mocha bombs with the simple addition of about 1-2 teaspoons instant coffee! My preferred instant coffee is Café Bustelo, and it is conveniently available on Amazon at this link:
How to Make a Simple Set of Hot Cocoa Bombs:
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Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (or tempered chocolate)
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
Directions
- Add the chocolate melting wafers to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl, stir the chocolate around, and then heat for an additional 15 seconds at a time until all the wafers are completely melted. Make sure to stir in between each heating because if you burn them, you will have to scrap the chocolate and start over.
- Now that the chocolate is fully melted, spoon a little bit of it into the wells of the mold. Use the back of the spoon (or a food paint brush) to brush the chocolate up the sides. Once all the wells are coated, gently tap the mold on the counter to remove excess bubbles, and to allow the chocolate to coat any spots you may have missed. Place this mold on a flat surface in the freezer for about 1-2 minutes, or until the chocolate has completely hardened.
Tip: I recommend working on the second set while the first set is in the freezer. - Now that the shells have hardened, once again use the back of the spoon to brush chocolate on the sides of the mold. The bottom should have enough chocolate, so focus on coating the sides in a secondary layer in order to reinforce the first layer of chocolate. This will not only make it easier to pop the shells out of their molds, but it should reduce the risk of the sides of the shells breaking as you de-mold them. Work diligently because the cold chocolate from the freezer will start to quickly set this secondary chocolate layer. Once this done, pop them into the freezer for a minute or two to harden.
Note: There are a few different ways to coat the sides in chocolate. This is how I personally prefer to make them. I always recommend playing around with techniques until you find what works best for you! - Next, carefully remove the shells from the molds. I like to press on the bottom of the shells and then carefully separate the sides from the mold.
- Now, it’s time to assemble the bombs. First, add the hot cocoa powder. For the large bombs add 2 tablespoons of hot chocolate powder, and for the small ones, add 1 tablespoon of hot chocolate powder. Second add the culinary crystals. For the large bombs add 2 teaspoons, and for the small ones, add 1 teaspoon of the crystals. And third, add the marshmallow bits. (You can certainly add regular mini marshmallows, I simply like to add these because they are extra cute!) Add approximately 2-3 teaspoons for the large hot cocoa bombs and about 1- 1 ½ teaspoons for the small ones.
- Now that all the chocolate bombs are filled, it is time to close them. This can be done in a few different ways. The first option is to dip the open side of the top shell in the melted chocolate and then attach it to the bottom shell. The second option is to slightly melt the open side of the top chocolate shell and then attach it to the bottom shell. The third option, also my current preferred method, is to use a piping bag to pipe chocolate onto the open end of the bottom shell and then attach the top shell.
Note: Unless your shells are perfect, you will have some little crevices where the contents of the cocoa bomb can escape. To fix this, add a little extra chocolate to completely close the shell. My favorite way to do this is to use one of my food paint brushes to brush the chocolate onto the shell and cover up those little open spots. - And finally, the best part, decorating! There are so many different ways to decorate hot cocoa bombs, so just have fun with it! For these basic bombs, I added some of the melted chocolate wafers into a piping bag and then drizzled the chocolate over the top. I then topped them off with a few of the marshmallow bits.
6 Fun Flavor Ideas:
Peppermint:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (or tempered chocolate)
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
10-12 teaspoons Candy Cane Pieces
Directions
- Add some candy canes, at least a dozen mini ones, to a food processor and blend until the candy canes are small pieces.
- Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to make the shells and fill them; however, when filling them, add 2 teaspoons of candy cane pieces to the large bombs and 1 teaspoon of candy cane pieces to the small bombs.
- After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted chocolate wafers over the top, sprinkle candy cane pieces, and add a few cute, festive sprinkles.
If you love peppermint like I do, add a mini candy cane to the side of your mug for that extra festive look and an additional pop of peppermint!
Mexican Hot Chocolate:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (or tempered chocolate)
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
3-4 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Directions
- Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to make the shells and fill them; however, when filling them, add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the large bombs and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the small bombs.
- After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted chocolate wafers over the top and immediately add a generous dusting of ground cinnamon.
It’s really that simple to make a tasty Mexican Hot Chocolate Bomb!
S’more:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (or tempered chocolate)
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Toasted Marshmallow Bits
5-7 teaspoons Graham Cracker Crumbs
Directions
- Start by adding some of the marshmallow bits to a glass heat-safe bowl. Take a cooking torch and carefully toast the marshmallows. Move them around to ensure that all of them get toasted, at least a little bit. Please exercise caution when doing this step because some of these will catch fire. Simply blow them out and continue to cautiously swirl them around the bowl to ensure that they are all toasted. Set this aside to cool. You can also spread these marshmallow bits on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake them in the oven to toast them, it will just take longer.
- Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to make the shells and fill them; however, when filling them, add 1 teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs to the large bombs and 1/2 teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs to the small bombs. Rather than add regular marshmallow bits, add 1 teaspoon of the toasted marshmallow bits to the large bombs and 1/2 teaspoon of the toasted marshmallow bits to the small bombs.
Note: The toasted marshmallow bits are clumped together. What’s cool is that even though they start to stick together during the toasting stage, once they have completely cooled, they easily separate when broken apart. - After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted chocolate wafers over the top, sift a generous amount of graham cracker crumbs, and add a few of the toasted marshmallows to the top.
I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t sure those marshmallow bits would toast properly, but they did! And I’m so excited that this s’more cocoa bomb is on my list of yummy, fun flavors!
Snickerdoodle:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Vanilla Melting Wafers
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
3-4 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Directions
- Melt the vanilla melting wafers just like you do with the Regular Hot Chocolate Bombs. Add about ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon for every 1 ½ cups vanilla melting wafers. Thoroughly mix this together and then make the shells using the same method as the regular hot cocoa bombs.
- Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to fill the shells; however, when filling them, add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the large bombs and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the small bombs.
- After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted vanilla wafers over the top and immediately sift a generous amount of ground cinnamon.
I know that Snickerdoodle is an all-year kind of cookie, but there is just something about that cinnamon and vanilla flavor combo that makes it especially perfect to enjoy this time of year!
Cookies & Cream:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Vanilla Melting Wafers
2 tablespoons Oreo© Cookie Crumbs
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
5-7 teaspoons Oreo© Cookie Crumbs
Directions
- To start, remove the filling of Oreo© cookies, and then place the cookies into a food processor. 1 dozen Oreo© cookies will be more than enough for these hot chocolate bombs. Process until the cookies are fine crumbs.
- Melt the vanilla melting wafers just like you do with the Regular Hot Chocolate Bombs. Add about 2 tablespoons cookie crumbs for every 1½ cups vanilla melting wafers. Thoroughly mix this together and then make the shells using the same method as the regular hot cocoa bomb.
- Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to fill the shells; however, when filling them, add 1 teaspoon of cookie crumbs to the large bombs and 1/2 teaspoon of cookie crumbs to the small bombs.
- After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted vanilla wafers over the top and immediately sprinkle a generous amount of cookie crumbs.
Cookies & cream is always delicious, and this hot cocoa bomb provides another delightful way to enjoy the awesome flavor combo of chocolate cookie and vanilla cream.
Crème Brûlée:
Ingredients
1 1/2 — 2 cups Ghirardelli Vanilla Melting Wafers
8 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
10 teaspoons Culinary Crystals
10-15 teaspoons Marshmallow Bits
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
Directions
- To start, make the hard caramelized sugar. Add ½ cup granulated sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan. Place it on the stove over high heat. After a while, the sugar will start to melt and caramelize, at this point you will want to move the sugar around with a spatula that can withstand high heat. Continue to move the sugar around as it melts. Moving the sugar around will also ensure that it will caramelize more evenly.
Once it is completely melted and has reached a lovely amber color, remove the pan from the stove and carefully pour the caramel onto a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Gently tilt the baking pan in different ways to allow the sugar to spread out a little more. Let this cool and harden for about 5-10 minutes. After it is completely cooled, break the hard caramel into pieces and add them to a food processor. Blend until the remaining pieces are very small shards. - Follow all of the same Regular Hot Chocolate Bomb Directions to make the shells and fill them; however, when filling them, add 1 teaspoon of hard caramel pieces to the large bombs and 1/2 teaspoon of hard caramel pieces to the small bombs.
- After sealing the bombs, drizzle the melted vanilla wafers over the top and immediately sprinkle a generous amount of hard caramel pieces over the top.
This particular cocoa bomb was actually inspired by Starbuck’s Caramel Brulatte, and I honestly think that when you add coffee to it, it tastes exactly like it! Those notes of caramel and vanilla come through beautifully!
Here are some links to some more of my favorite supplies that I utilized in the making of these hot chocolate bombs:
My current favorite hot chocolate is Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Indulgences because it has such a great, strong chocolate flavor. If you are interested in getting some to try for yourself, here is a link to purchase it on Amazon:
One of my favorite kitchen tools is my KitchenAid Mini Food Processor! It is compact, so it does not take up a lot of counter space. It is great for small, quick projects! Here is a link to purchase one on Amazon (and as of posting this, it’s on sale!!)
Thank you so much for checking out this post! Which flavor are you going to make first? Let me know in the comments below!
As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions!
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