Back in September I learned about hot chocolate bombs – a spherical chocolate shell filled with hot cocoa mix and marshmallows that break open when a cup of steaming milk is poured over them, elevating your standard mug of powdered hot cocoa to a rich and decadent melted chocolate beverage that’s delightful to watch bloom as the contents within are slowly released.
In early December, I thought these might be a fun gift for family and friends during the holidays, but after researching them at local bake-shops and on Etsy, I decided paying $5+ per hot chocolate bomb in addition to whatever shipping charges existed on either end was outrageous for a single cup of cocoa.
So, like any “determined” (read: crafty and stubborn) person I, instead, spent over $50 on supplies like silicone molds and high quality baking chocolate (along with 2 labor-intensive hours with Ted’s assistance finely shaving, tempering, painting, and sealing our own) to remind myself exactly why hot chocolate bombs cost $5 each and why we pay skilled and patient people a fair and reasonable price for their handmade work at local bake shops and on Etsy. I’ve learned this lesson before, by the way…and often. But I like doing things myself and this is a lesson I will continue to learn anew every couple of months, for better or for worse.
We made these this past Saturday, as the snow gently cascaded down all day (much like today – except today is more like sharp little ice pellets disguised as snow slapping against the house with the mighty force of 20 mph sustained gusts), and they turned out to be a fun winter snow day project. They look and taste great, and it’ll be nice to have the supplies to make them again whenever I want in the future without having to order them specially or risk damage in shipment (these dudes are delicate!), but this was definitely a team effort that worked best with four quick hands and a laser thermometer. The reward is excellent though, and on yet another blustery, bitter, snowy, and windy day in upstate New York, they are a delight to have around.
My friend Bethany recommended I plunk one in coffee, which I did (Door County Coffee & Tea Co.’s candy cane coffee – highly recommended!) and it was wonderful! I also imagine adding a swig of Kahlua or Bailey’s Irish Cream (traditional or salted caramel) to a hot chocolate made with one of these bombs would be excellent, and I intend to do that this very night.
I stuck with a classic hot chocolate bomb filled simply with powdered hot chocolate mix and lots of tiny dehydrated marshmallows for this first batch, but I’m looking forward to shaking things up in the future with soft peppermint melting sticks, Andes mints, peppermint oil, caramel, fleur de sel, maybe a little cayenne, etc. By the time the silicone molds arrived from the great holiday shipping debacle of 2020, it was mid-January, so not as many friends or family members have delighted in these yet as originally hoped, but I’m slowly doling them out to neighbors and friends as I see them (masked and from a distance, obviously). Once I sharpen my cocoa bomb skills more smoothly and efficiently, these babies will make great little treats for next holiday season!
For anyone who might be interested in trying these out as well, I followed these instructions. The 2.5″ spherical silicone molds I found on Amazon (I bought a 4 pack, but 8 would have been the most ideal number of molds to have on hand for this project so you can make more bombs in one shot since you already have the chocolate finely chopped, melted, and tempered), the dehydrated marshmallows were from Nuts.com (you get more than you could ever use for $5.99) and I also ordered a case of 12 Baker’s Premium Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Bars from Amazon, which was cheaper than buying at the grocery store. You can use any kind of thermometer, but we found a laser thermometer was great since you test temperature often and with a touch-less thermometer we didn’t need to keep cleaning off a stick thermometer after each test.
