Hot Chocolate Cocoa Bombs
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Hot Chocolate Cocoa Bombs (or hot chocolate marshmallow bombs, your choice!) are my copycat recipe after discovering the awesome cocoa bombs were sold out at all the stores!
Recreate your own at home and enjoy the truly chocolate mocha coffee or see the delight on your kid’s faces as the marshmallows pop out of their hot cocoa.
Recently, these hot chocolate cocoa bombs also went viral on TikTok, but they were here long before that. If you came from TikTok, welcome!
This is a MUST WATCH VIDEO IN THIS POST to see how they work!
You simply make the chocolate balls, fill them with cocoa or powdered coffee plus some marshmallows, and drop them in your milk or coffee. AMAZING, and more than that, this is a FUN recipe!
Chocolate Cocoa Bombs
A few weeks ago, I was in the store and found these chocolate cocoa bombs. I have seen many products like this before, where you drop the chocolate in the hot milk, and it turns it into cocoa, but this was the first time I had seen the chocolate bomb idea with a hollow center and added powdered cocoa inside with the marshmallows.
It wasn’t long before half of Instagram was showing people popping little marshmallows in their cups, which also meant it wasn’t long before you couldn’t find them anywhere in the store at all! So a friend and I got together and decided to make our own hot chocolate bomb recipe.
Just like when you learn how to make fudge, there are a few tricks to these hot chocolate bombs, so make sure you read through the article before you attempt to create a hollowed-out chocolate ball.
I learned a lot about testing different chocolates and working with the seams.
One thing I will say is that our first few attempts (shown here in the film) are not flawless in seams, but the hot chocolate bomb recipe DOES work and works well. I tested about 12 of them, so you can be sure you will get a super fun marshmallow pop!
Chocolate bombs can be used in a variety of ways. In this case, I left out the powdered cocoa and instead made some Starbucks cocoa in a cup to drop my bomb into.
The chocolate from the ball made it extra chocolaty, and the marshmallow poof-up was super fun. You can also create a hot chocolate cocoa ball (bomb) with extra powdered cocoa and one side covered with marshmallows.
DIY Hot Chocolate Bomb Ingredients
To get started on chocolate bombs, you need to pre-plan.
I recommend a silicone semi-circle baking mold, but there are a variety of baking molds that combine into a perfect circle (like the kind you use in a bath bomb) that get the job done.
- Chocomaker melting chocolate
- circle baking mold
- marshmallows
Remember, especially if you go locally to a craft store to buy a mold, that the larger your chocolate ball, the harder it is to put into a coffee cup.
Make sure you are using a ball large enough to fill with contents like marshmallows but small enough that you can drop it into a cup. I bought mine at Michael’s in the baking department. The semi-circle baking mold I shared above has a variety of sizes that work great for a hot cocoa bomb.
How to make Cocoa Bombs
Melt your Chocolate
Melting chocolate can be really tricky to work with. You first want to melt your chocolate. The melting chocolate I have had the best results with is Walmart’s “Chocomaker.”
I know there are a variety of melts and bars when it comes to melting chocolate, but after trying many kinds, this brand always produces smooth chocolate for recipes, so I stick with it. In theory, any melting chocolate should work, so if you have a favorite, feel free to use it.
Remember that melting chocolate should only be heated for 30 seconds at a time, stirred, and then reheated until melted. If you overheat your chocolate, there is a point where it begins to re-harden and ruin the chocolate.
Typically, your chocolate will take 1.5–2 minutes to fully melt. You can also use a Wilton Chocolate candy melting machine.
If your chocolate is too thick, add a bit of shortening to the mixture and stir to thin—your melting chocolate bag should explain how much on the back.
Once your Chocolate is melted and ready
Fill out your chocolate mold.
Make the chocolate thick enough that you cannot see the sides of the mold. In my own house, I just used our (clean) fingers because it was quicker to do before the chocolate hardened.
You can, of course, use a pastry painting brush if you prefer or plan on selling chocolate bombs.
Once your mold has chocolate in all the semicircles, put it in the freezer to firm up quickly.
This takes approximately 5 minutes, but I give it 10 minutes to be sure everything is cold.
Remove Semi-Circles to Fill
Carefully pop the chocolate half circles out of the mold.
Add marshmallows to half of your semicircles.
Note: I tried this by filling BOTH sides with marshmallows, and it honestly worked better with just one side filled, but I will leave that up to you.
Additionally, you can add premade cocoa powder, peppermint, or sprinkles – filling it is entirely up to you!
Sealing the Chocolate Circles
There are several ways to seal up the seams of your chocolate balls.
- You can slightly heat a pan and melt your chocolate circle edges (bottoms) for a few seconds, making the chocolate melt again and seal. Put it back in the freezer ASAP to firm up. You can see this technique below. Working WITH HOT Melted Chocolate Tip: One thing you need to remember is that melting chocolate is hot, and that melts the chocolate, so if your melting chocolate is TOO hot, it will MELT your chocolate ball! Ensure it’s cooled down enough to secure the seam without melting the chocolate.
- This is how I like to do it, as shown here. Hold your pieces of chocolate together and put melting chocolate around the seam. Before it hardens, roll it in holiday sprinkles! Put them in the freezer to firm and secure the chocolate bombs.
Once all your balls are set, you are ready to enjoy!
Add Chocolate Bombs to a hot cup of coffee, hot milk, or cocoa
Now the real fun begins! Watch the video to see how the marshmallows pop out in your coffee or cocoa!
As the chocolate heats up and melts, your marshmallows will be released and pop up.
Then simply stir and enjoy!
- Drop your marshmallow in Hot coffee for an instant mocha
- Drop your marshmallow ball into hot cocoa for a fun surprise and burst of marshmallows
- Fill your ball with cocoa powder and marshmallows and Drop in hot milk for instant cocoa.
Hot Chocolate Bomb Variations
It’s so easy to create this concept for other drink ideas as well.
- Christmas hot chocolate bombs
- Tiny, crunchy peppermints
- Dehydrated marshmallows
- Mini Chocolate Chips (in a ton of flavors!)
- Pre-made Coffee powders
Common DIY Hot Chocolate Bomb Questions
When making hot chocolate bombs or these super creamy white chocolate cocoa bombs, I get many questions. I published this awesome DIY hot chocolate cocoa bomb over a year ago, and it’s making the rounds again. I am so happy that all of you are making this awesome food recipe and getting some enjoyment in your home.
Chocolate can be hard to work with for some, and it takes patience. It’s easy to warm up chocolate too fast or too little and be left with gunk.
I hope answering these cocoa bomb questions in one place is an easy and helpful summary for those searching.
How to Store Chocolate Bombs
Because these are made with chocolate, they must be stored in the fridge after being set, or they risk melting.
Dust with powdered sugar if storing more than one in an airtight container.
This was my first attempt at trying to recreate this Target Hot Chocolate Cocoa Ball, so I’ll be sure to update as I do this again and find new and better ways to make it!
I have tried to link to all of the molds and product recommendations to make your DIY super easy, but as more and more people discover these, occasionally, Amazon has to restock. I will do my best to keep current and in-stock items linked if possible.
What mold do you need for Hot Chocolate Bombs?
The best mold I have found for sizing is a silicone mold with 15 semi-circles. This makes 7 hot chocolate cocoa bombs, with one extra side you can discard or use as a backup.
These molds are not HUGE enough to stuff hoards of large marshmallows or peppermint pieces into them, but they fit in most common mugs.
I recommend that you get semi-circle silicon molds that are a variety of sizes so you can make your chocolate bombs in several ways and for all cups. Once you start making them, you will love the results, and I typically drop all mine in a few days.
Here is the silicone mold I recommend:
- 5 Pack of Silicon Semi-Circles
- I got mine at Hobby Lobby in the baking section if you prefer to purchase it in person.
What kind of Marshmallows are Used?
The most common marshmallows used for hot chocolate bombs are mini marshmallows or dehydrated marshmallows.
How to Seal a Hot Chocolate Bomb
There are two ways to seal half-chocolate spears.
- Heat a low pan on the stove and put down your sphere for a second or two, lightly melting the edges. Then press into the other side after filling.
- Use melted and warm chocolate around the two sides to seal and then place in the freezer to set. Using this method, you can add sprinkles or gold dust around the middle edges.
Where to Buy Hot Chocolate Bombs
If you prefer to purchase your hot chocolate bomb, last year, we found the Wondershop brand at Target! As they have become popular again, they are harder to find.
You can also try Amazon.
Hot Chocolate Cocoa Bombs
Ingredients
- melting chocolate
- semi-circle baking mold
- marshmallows
- powdered cocoa optional
Instructions
- Melting chocolate can be really tricky to work with. You first want to melt down your chocolate. Remember that melting chocolate should only be heated 30 seconds at a time, stirred, and then reheated until melted. If you over heat your chocolate, there is a point where it begins to re-harden and ruins the chocolate.
- Typically your chocolate will take 1.5-2 minutes to fully melt. You can also use a Wilton Chocolate melting machine. If your chocolate is too thick, add a tiny bit of shortening to the mixture and stir to thin.
- Fill out your chocolate mold. Make the chocolate thick enough that you cannot see the sides of the mold. In my own house, we just used our (clean) fingers because it was quicker to do before the chocolate hardened. You can, of course, use a pastry painting brush if you prefer.
- Once your mold has chocolate in all the semi-circles, put in freezer to firm up. This takes approximately 5 minutes, but I give it 10 to be sure everything is solid.
- Carefully pop chocolate half circles out of the mold.
- Now add marshmallows to your half circles. You can choose to add to one side or BOTH sides before sealing.
Sealing the Chocolate Circles
- There are several ways to seal up your balls of chocolate.
- You can slightly heat up a pan and melt your chocolate circle edges (bottoms) for just a few seconds, making the chocolate melted again and seal.
- Put back in freezer ASAP to firm.
- Hold your pieces of chocolate together and put melting chocolate around the seam.
- Before it hardens, roll in holiday sprinkles!
- Put in freezer to firm and secure chocolate bombs.
- Storage of Chocolate Cocoa Bombs
- Store in fridge
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: The nutritional data provided here is auto-calculated and intended for your convenience only. As it’s generated via automation, its accuracy may be compromised. For precise nutritional insight, please compute the values utilizing the actual ingredients in your recipe through your chosen nutrition calculator or application.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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This is SO MUCH FUN I must be living under a rock because I haven’t heard of these. I love it! My kids would flip!
Karen, so nice of you to stop by!! Yes, we had a blast trying to figure out how to re-engineer these chocolate balls. Of course not as good as a machine but they work great and were a lot of fun. We plan on trying to work on making it better with more insides as well that can be dropped in drinks. My only tip is I have seen really even edges, but in most molds you dont have a thick edge, so I am still trying to figure out a “seamless” edge without melting too much chocolate off the semi-circle. Work in progress but still fun!! I am sure someone as talented as you could find a solution.
If you have tips on the edges of cocoa bombs, I could use them!! 😂
I tried them for the first time today and well they are standing. So I say I accomplished my goal! Lol
But I’d love to figure out ways to make the seems smoother. My chocolate got hard fast. Do you reheat it to do your seems?
If you check out this article on our site, I show how you can do the seams easily! https://www.saltysidedish.com/white-chocolate-marshmallow-bombs/
Let me know if that helps!
I want to try to make the hot chocolate bombs, but what size is the mold you are using. I have looked for mold but they don’t tell you the size. Thank you Juanita
I went and checked and there is no size listed on the molds, but if you click on the link in the ingredients above, I linked to one that looks like mine on amazon. They are semi-circles and it really just depends on the size of your cup on how big to make them.
The standard size for hot chocolate cocoa bombs are between 2” and 2.7”. Any size outside these and they either won’t be large enough for hot chocolate powder and marshmallows or too big for your mug. Hope that helps!
How long can these be stored in the fridge?
Chocolate can actually last a long time, about 3 months typically!
Unusual question.. I would love to do these cocoa bombs instead filled with Chai powder, or instant coffee, but for someone with a chocolate allergy. Any thoughts on what else might be possible for the shells? Caramel, perhaps?
I wish I could give you a good idea for the shell, but chocolate is a unique melting property for this. Without some serious experimentation, I dont believe that caramel in and of itself would work. It would likely be too hard to have that same pop. The only other thoughts is like a cream cheese melt but of course, I am not sure that would taste great in cocoa or coffee.
Use White chocolate…it isn’t actually chocolate
White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate. Maybe that would work.
Heather, that is a very good point!!!
Maybe almond bark candy coating?
How about using white chocolate for the shell – white chocolate is actually not chocolate (which requires cocoa) so should be okay for the allergies.
After these bombs are set…can they just set out on a counter at room temperature ??
Lorraine, Keep hot chocolate bombs in the fridge or freezer. The chocolate is relatively thin and can melt easily – so if you turn on your oven or humidity in your home. Its best to keep chocolate bombs cold.
I looked for a link in the ingredient list for the silicone molds, but found no link. Help please! Your looked they were easy to work with and there are so many brands out there! Thank you!
Hi anne, you can click on the “CIRCLE BAKING MOLD” or go here – https://amzn.to/31EdqZ7 this set has three sizes that should fit all your mugs.
Also, I dont know much about this set but it has the same number of semi-circles that my mold does, 15 – so in theory it should be the same size https://amzn.to/31EWO3D
How much hot chocolate mix did you put in the chocolate balls
Just read the back of the mix you are using to determine the right amount for your glass. 🙂
I use 1tablespoon for every 6oz of hot milk I plan to pour in!
There are alot of deep silicone decorative ice cube trays. They may work. They are smaller than the semi round ones discussed, but you could put 2-3 in a cup. Just a suggestion.
Anyone know how much chocolate I should get to make 50 of these? I am putting gift baskets together and my budget doesn’t allow for $5.00 a bomb, but thought I could make them, but price comparing if it is actually cheaper.
Thanks for the recipe to do this. It’s fascinating! And such a cool gift.
Question: when you say melting chocolate do you mean the Candy Melts you buy at Michael’s (any craft store), or like the Ghiradelli melts in the grocery stores by the chocolate chips or like chocolate almond bark??
Thank you in advance!!!
Any chocolate that is melt for candies, so Ghiradelli melts or candy melts DO work, but I find the Wilton ones are SUPER HARD to deal with. I suggestion buying the “chocomaker” brand, which is at Walmart. It melts REALLY easily without burning. Any time I touch the wilton candy melts, they are not as smooth.
Thank you so much for responding. Can’t wait to start making cocoa bombs!
To put the two chocolate halves together, you can also slightly heat a metal tray and melt one of the halves for a few seconds , then put them together. But your method is also good!
Yes, this works great too! We do that in our other recipes but I didnt want a kid to come on and not have another way to do it because hot skillets or metal trays can be a burn hazard. Def for adults the melt way to seal seams is also fantastic. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Trisha
Can i use carmel bits for the inside instead of marshmellows? Would they melt..(chocolate and carmel oh yum)
And was going to use strawberry flavor Coca.quik.would this work as well?
If you are talking about the little hard caramel bits – they might be fun to use but I do not think they will melt well inside your coffee. They wont HURT anything though if you want to give it a shot!~
Has anyone tried putting alcohol in chocolate bombs…like Baileys? If so, how did you do it?
hi Chelle, actually I did! The only problem that I had was that because its liquid, when you seal the balls, if they fall over, some of the Baileys is escaping the seams, no matter how tight they are. I am still perfecting how to do it and i hope to publish an article before Monday. I have a few things left to try – but if you want to try, the strawberries and cream w/ the chocolate balls is DIVINE. Put it in coffee….crazy good.
Lots of trail and error to find the perfect size mold, I keep trying milk chocolate chips thinking the candy melts just won’t taste as good, but not sure if it’s the chocolate or my technique, but so fragile! I start with a beautiful half piece and end up with something that resembles the Death Star! Lol Guess I will be trying the candy melts from Walmart
Here’s hoping
Milk chocolate chips are not the same as melting chocolate. Definitely buy the Chocomaker Melting chocolate and it should solve a lot of the issues you have been having. Let me know if you have questions!
Oh my gosh what a difference that made!! With some practice I’ll have beautiful coco bombs! I had to buy the white tho because of course our Walmart was sold out of the chocolate, so we will taste test the chocolate bombs but will order some chocolate if necessary! Thanks so much!!
I used the 60% ghiradelli choco chips as that’s what I’ve seen in a lot of other recipes. I froze for 7 min. Got beautiful molds but as soon as I picked them up to try and seal them they started melting in my hands. I heard the choco melts don’t taste as good so I wanted to use real chocolate. I melted the chips in the Wilton candy melter and they melted beautifully, very smooth. Any suggestions on how to prevent them from melting when I try to seal and decorate them?
The problem with regular chocolate is that its not meant for molds, so you have to work in an environment where your body heat is a race against the clock. Personally, I think the chocomelts are delicious – I have no issues w/ them in cocoa or hot milk or coffee at all and Id have eaten my share of hot chocolate bombs in the last year. If you are dead set on using regular chocolate, you might want to try some cold silicon gloves to prevent your body heat from melting the chocolate. As far as Wilton goes, we never have luck w/ it melting right in the recipes in general (not this one but in the majority) so to keep it consistent for users, I typically share what always works. I hope you find a solution outside our suggestions if its not right for you, but I do recommend you grab a bag (they are like $3) and try it our way too. You might be suprised!
I have made lots of chocolate bombs with marshmallows and cocoa but I don’t know why when I store them in cellophane wrap for selling aftr a week they are starting to discolour? What am I doing wrong… If these are supposed to last a while. I am storing them in a cool room but am afraid they might not taste as good if they are starting to lighten in colour. Please help
Do you mean the white glaze that goes over chocolate after its stored? There are two reasons chocolate does that – one is the sugar “bloom” (is white and a little grainY) and one is a “fat” bloom. Its hard to know what issue you have, but it usually leads to storage – going from super hot to super cold quickly can cause it, improper moisture (humidity) coming to the surface. So like…if the bombs are hot but then you quickly through them into the freezer.
Your molds need to be super dry and your fridge has to have low humidity or moisture can form, which essentially leads to that sugar bloom.
It doesnt hurt the chocolate taste and its still good but I can see how selling it may look unsightly.
The other problem can be if you used chocolate w/ oils and fats and the chocolate isnt tempered, then it can have a “fat” bloom which is also chalky in nature. Im pretty sure this has more to do with the TYPE Of chocolate that is used.
I am not a chocolate expert but chocolate can be super fussy – I dont sell any products so I havent had to really dive into how to avoid it, but my guess is you need to experiment well with making sure moisture stays out of the chocolate and storage to get just the right temperature for your chocolate bombs.
In my experience, Chocomaker is far inferior to other chocolates. Chocomaker is often too thin and doesn’t spread well, needing several coats. It is too soft so if you’re mild has any twisted chocomaker mold will often crack or break off all together, causing you to try to “fix” or start over, and last but not least they are TOO SOFT! They will not stand up under pressure. Griping too hard, attacking them, any pressure will cause them to smooth or break altogether. Also, imo they make the chocolate milk way too thick. Yuck! I find Ghirardelli to be the most reliable melting chocolate on the market. It’s so much easier to work with, did super hard, and tastes like REAL chocolate, no waxy aftertaste. I know it’s more expensive, but try it and you’ll understand my recommendation. Your customers, or even yourself, will be being for more! Good luck!
Emily, maybe they are in taste (I dont know personally) but I find them the easiest to work with. But again, we do not SELL anything. I Think if I was going to sell hot chocolate bombs I would do a lot more experimentation in chocolate for sure. I appreciate the Ghirardelli recommendation, Ill try it!
Hi. I made Hot Chocolate Bombs for my 5 year old nephew for a Christmas treat. Other than using a bigger mold than I should have, they were a success. Now I want to add instant coffee powder to the chocolate in the ball, but I’m not sure how much. Any suggestions?
For one cup of water, you would need one teaspoon of instant coffee (or more if you want it stronger). If you mean adding cocoa over coffee, its 2 tablespoons of instant cocoa powder to 3/4th cup hot milk.
Hi Trisha,
I was in the process of making your Chocolate Carmel Cookie Bars, all the ingredients laid out and ready to go, when my phone went off. (Dummy me forgot to check the charge). When I got it to come back on I could not find the recipe again. My husband says I should stay away from anything electronic.
Could you please provide me with your recipe again?
Your fudge is also delicious!
Sincerely,
Laurie Pittman
I emailed them to you!