Cocoa bombs are relatively new on the food scene, but their popularity means you can find a variety in stores this season. However, they’re not very hard to make at home!

A cocoa bomb is a simple concept: a hollow chocolate sphere encapsulating cocoa mix and marshmallows. When you submerge the “bomb” in a mug of hot milk, the chocolate melts and the cocoa mix dissolves into your favorite delicious hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows on top!

Working with chocolate can be intimidating, but these are surprisingly easy! Just remember these few tips:

• We recommend using your favorite chocolate bars to make the cocoa spheres. We prefer soy-free Guittard Chocolate. We also recommend mixing types of chocolate for a deeper flavor profile. We combined one 45% milk chocolate and one 75% dark chocolate. Delicious!
• When melting/tempering your chocolate, don’t microwave longer than 15 second increments and stir well each time. This will keep the chocolate temperature below 90F and making sure it remains properly tempered (read: shiny!).
• To minimize fingerprints, keep your hands cool. Some people recommend using gloves, but I found them to be awkward and unnecessary. Instead, I placed my tray on top of an ice pack and worked quickly. It was easy!
• I recommend using the underside of a cupcake or donut baking sheet to hold your half-spheres while you fill and seal them. They hold them beautifully!

NOTE: We found Sugar Geek Show’s post on cocoa bombs to be impressively comprehensive! If you run into any problems, we recommend clicking on the link below for loads of tips and recommendations.

Cocoa Bombs
(Original recipe: Sugar Geek Show)

Ingredients

2 standard-sized chocolate bars (6 oz total)
6-12 TBSP your favorite cocoa mix
24-30 mini marshmallows
1/2 C white or blonde chocolate chips

Special Tools

Silicone half-sphere molds, medium size (12 total to make 6 cocoa bombs)
Food-grade pastry brush
Thermometer

Finely chop your chocolate using a sharp chefs knife. Place the chocolate into a bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate, moving the chocolate that is on the outside, towards the center. Heat again for 15 seconds and stir again. Repeat this process until the chocolate is ALMOST but not fully melted.

Make sure your molds are clean by polishing them with a paper towel. Using a pastry brush, paint a thin layer of chocolate into the molds and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Paint a second coat of chocolate over the first, just like the previous layer. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Finally, paint a third coat just like the last two, paying special attention to building up the rim of the sphere. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Carefully take your chocolate out of the molds; fill with 1-2 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix and 4-5 marshmallows.

Warm a cookie sheet over gentle heat. (We put ours on top – not inside – of a warm oven. You want the sheet to be warm to the touch, not too hot.) Invert the top half-sphere onto the warm sheet, rim side down, to soften the chocolate on the rim. Work quickly; this won’t take long. Once it’s soft, immediately place the softened rim on top of the filled half-sphere to create a complete sphere and seal it closed.

Melt the white/blonde chocolate chips the same way you melted the milk chocolate. (We used the same bowl as the milk chocolate. This is just meant to be decorative, so it’s okay if the chocolates mix.) Once melted, drizzle it over the top of each sphere using a fork.