Make hot chocolate exciting with hot chocolate bombs that seemingly bloom when you put it in hot milk or water. The chocolate melts, leaving you with an extra chocolatey and delicious hot cocoa; these chocolate bombs also make for a great DIY present!

These hot chocolate bombs are super easy to make, and you can pack them with any cocoa mix and goodies you want. This recipe makes a snowman hot chocolate bomb filled with mini marshmallows and some crushed candy cane pieces for a minty twist.

Here’s how to make them yourself with this hot chocolate bombs recipe!

What is a Snowman Hot Chocolate Bomb?

A hot chocolate bomb is melted chocolate shaped into a sphere or mold filled with hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and other toppings. They’re usually decorated for Christmas, so you’ll see all sorts of Christmas-themed chocolate bombs like Rudolph, Santa Claus, snowmen, stars, presents, and more.

Hot chocolate bombs were started in 2019 by a Boise State student named Eric Garcia, who had the idea to make an innovative and fun hot cocoa after working in a gelato shop in Italy, where he also discovered the fun of a Kinder Egg Joy, which is a hollow chocolate egg kids break to get to the mini-toy hidden inside.

Like many viral food trends, he made a video on TikTok that went viral instantly. Soon after, hundreds of people made their own versions, expanding to different flavors and themes! It’s a super easy treat to make and fun for everyone!

How Do You Use a Hot Chocolate Bomb?

To use a hot chocolate bomb, place it in a heatproof cup, then pour hot milk or water over it until it melts. Then, once the chocolate has melted enough, it reveals the hot cocoa mix inside!

Stir the melted chocolate, cocoa, and milk together until it all dissolves, and you’re left with a smooth, sweet, and creamy hot cocoa.

Alternatively, you could also break open hot cocoa bombs by hitting the hard chocolate repeatedly with a spoon until you reveal the cocoa mix inside. Then, pour hot milk or water over the pieces and mix until dissolved. Although this defeats the purpose of the name, it’s still a fun way to open them!

Are Chocolate Bombs Better With Milk or Water?

Hot chocolate bombs are way better with milk. Usually, if you’re only using the hot cocoa mix, water is enough to dissolve and create a nice, nostalgic chocolate drink. However, since chocolate bombs have real chocolate, it’s best to use hot milk.

Chocolate and water do not mix well together. Many chocolatiers hate it when water accidentally gets into their chocolate because it seizes and is no longer usable.

Food Science Break: Solid chocolate comprises small sugar particles and cocoa powder in a fatty cocoa butter matrix. The sugar and cocoa stabilize the chocolate. So, if you add water to chocolate, it dissolves the sugar and cocoa powder, destroying the chocolate matrix, and the solids clump together, creating lumps called seizing. The water and solids separate, leaving you with clumpy chocolate water.

The only way to get the seized chocolate smooth is by emulsifying or blending it.

Milk works because it has fat, which helps the chocolate disperse evenly through it! Plus, it tastes way better with hot cocoa than water. You get a smooth and creamy drink!

Best Hot Cocoa Mix

I personally am nostalgically attached to Swiss Miss hot cocoa, as I grew up drinking it, but honestly, the best hot cocoa mix (or maybe the freshest) is homemade!

Making hot cocoa at home with cocoa powder and powdered sugar is super easy. You can use those two main ingredients to make big batches of hot cocoa mix. Add some milk powder to the mix for extra creaminess so it has a milky taste.

If you use high-quality cocoa powder, your hot cocoa tastes chocolateier. However, if you want to achieve that classic packed hot cocoa taste, Hershey’s or generic cocoa powder works perfectly.

Throw some mini marshmallows into your mix, or even crushed-up candy cane or peppermint pieces for a peppermint hot cocoa rendition.

How Long Does a Snowman Hot Chocolate Bomb Last?

The nice thing about chocolate is that it stays fresh for a long time. Once you make your chocolate bombs, wrap them in foil or plastic wrap to seal them, then store them in an airtight container or bag in the fridge or on the counter at room temperature.

These hot chocolate bombs should last for weeks if not months. However, the chocolate bomb tastes best when freshest!

The chocolate may form a thin white coating depending on the chocolate used. This is completely normal, and the chocolate is still safe to eat.

Food Science Break: This process is called blooming, which is when, over time, the sugar separates from the chocolate fat and rises to the surface, and crystallizes.

How to Melt Chocolate

There are multiple ways to melt chocolate, but this recipe uses chocolate wafers (compound chocolate), which have vegetable fat, while real chocolate has cocoa butter.

To melt real chocolate to get that signature snap, you have to temper it, which means increasing and lowering the temperatures of the chocolate to get it to set properly.

However, tempering chocolate is tricky and takes a lot of patience and practice to get it right.

Luckily, chocolate wafers don’t need to be tempered and can quickly melt in the microwave or by putting them in a bowl of warm water. Just melt it a little bit at a time, mixing in between so you don’t accidentally burn it!

Chocolate wafers are also different from chocolate chips, which have cocoa butter and won’t work as well for making hot chocolate bombs.

How to Make a Snowman Hot Chocolate Bomb

To make a snowman hot chocolate bomb, you’ll need:

• Snowman or round molds (food grade)
• Chocolate wafers or compound chocolate
• Crushed candy cane or peppermint candies
• Mini marshmallows
• Hot cocoa mix

Snowman Hot Chocolate Bomb Recipe

1. Melt chocolate. Melt chocolate wafers in a bowl in the microwave, melting it for 10-15 seconds at a time and stirring in between. Stop when all the chocolate is smooth and melted.
2. Fill chocolate molds. Clean your molds and make sure they are dry before filling with chocolate. Dump the excess chocolate onto a clean tray or parchment paper for reuse.
3. Chill chocolate. Place the chocolate-lined molds into the fridge and let the chocolate harden for 15-20 minutes or until it is hard.
4. Remove the chocolate from the mold. Gently remove the chocolate from the molds by turning them upside down onto a tray and gently tapping the backside of the mold until released. If you use a silicone mold, gently peel the silicone from the chocolate.
5. Fill chocolate. Fill chocolate molds with hot cocoa mix and desired toppings, like mini marshmallows and crushed peppermint candy. Make sure to leave half of the chocolates empty, as two halves make one whole chocolate bomb.
6. Attach chocolate. Warm up a plate or pan and carefully melt the empty chocolate half, seam down. Once it is slightly melted, place the melted chocolate half onto the filled chocolate half and gently glue them together. Smooth out any rough edges with your finger.
7. Chill and package. Place the hot chocolate bombs onto a plate or tray in the fridge for 5 minutes to set. Once set, carefully decorate and package them.
8. Mix and enjoy! To enjoy, place one chocolate bomb in a cup, then pour hot milk over it until the chocolate melts and reveals the cocoa mix inside. Stir to dissolve and enjoy!

Best Chocolate Molds

Honestly, use whatever mold you have! Chocolate wafers are made to melt and harden easily, so they won’t really stick to the mold. However, the more details the mold has, the harder it will be to get the chocolate out.

Ideally, you would use a silicone or polycarbonate (plastic) mold for chocolate making. It’s easy to remove the chocolate from them.

I used a metal cake pan mold with snowmen in it, and it was a little bit of a struggle trying to get the chocolate out, but they made it out with a bit of coaxing.

Tips

• If some of your chocolate molds break, you can easily fix them by adding some melted chocolate to the broken pieces and gluing them back together. Smooth the edges with your finger, and you should have a chocolate bomb!
• Use white chocolate or other compound chocolate flavors for a flavor twist on hot chocolate bombs.
• Fill the chocolate bombs with different cocoa mixes like pumpkin spice, peppermint, chocolate malt powder, or even strawberry milk powder for fun flavor combinations!
• You can decorate the chocolate bombs easily by drizzling melted colored chocolate wafers over the bombs using a spoon.