Think of these hot chocolate bombs as a cute hot chocolate ball with marshmallows inside… What’s not to love?! Just drop the chocolate bomb into a mug, pour hot milk on top, and watch your ball slowly “explode” into the perfect cup of hot cocoa!

Hot cocoa is one of my favorite things about the holidays! I’m a chocolate fanatic, so that makes sense. There’s nothing more comforting than a piping hot mug of liquid chocolate. Except for maybe drinking it in your best fuzzy socks.

Our family actually has a long-standing Christmas tradition of getting hot chocolate from a local convenience store on Christmas Eve and then driving around to look at Christmas lights. So I guess you could say that hot chocolate is a staple of our holiday season.

And these hot chocolate bombs are a fun twist on the classic Christmas drink. Yup, they are… THE BOMB! See what I did there? 🙂

These hot chocolate balls also make AWESOME Christmas gifts! Wrap a few bombs up in a cute Christmas tin, or gift them with a set of cute coffee mugs for a creative homemade gift for teachers, neighbors, or coworkers.

Here’s how to make them:

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Ingredients and Supplies Needed

Here’s what you need to make 6 hot chocolate bombs:

• 1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 packets instant cocoa mix
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips – for drizzling on top of your hot cocoa balls
• 6 cups hot milk to make the bombs – 1 cup of milk for each bomb
• a round silicone mold

How to Make Hot Chocolate Bombs

1. Melt the chocolate chips.

First, melt your semi-sweet chocolate chips by placing them in a microwave-safe bowl and microwaving them for 30 seconds at a time. In between each 30 second interval, remove the bowl from the microwave (careful, it may be hot!), and stir the chocolate for a few seconds.

You may need to microwave the chocolate chips 3-4 times before they’re fully melted, but be careful to not burn the chocolate.

2. Spoon chocolate into the silicone mold.

After your chocolate chips are melted, it’s time to start building your hot chocolate bombs. To do so, put a spoonful of melted chocolate inside one cup of the silicone mold. Then, spread the chocolate up the sides of the mold using the back of the spoon until you have a nice, even layer of chocolate all the way around.

Continue this process until all the molds are coated.

Your chocolate molds should look like this:

Save the leftover chocolate for later… You’ll need it to seal and decorate your hot chocolate bombs.

3. Wait for the chocolate to harden.

Wait about 2 to 3 hours for the chocolate in the molds to set completely. Or, if you’re not that patient, you can refrigerate the mold to cut down on time.

4. Fill your hot chocolate bombs.

After the chocolate is fully set, remove each of the chocolate cups from the mold. Then, add a small amount of instant hot cocoa mix to half of the pieces, like this:

Don’t fill the remaining chocolate pieces, because you’ll use those as the tops of your cocoa balls.

Place mini marshmallows on top of the hot cocoa mix like this:

5. Seal the hot chocolate bombs.

The leftover chocolate that you didn’t use in Step 2 is hardened by now, so you will need to reheat it. This time, microwave the chocolate in 15 second intervals to avoid burning it, since there is a smaller amount to melt.

Then, to seal the bombs into a ball shape, dip the edges of one of your empty chocolate pieces into the melted chocolate like this:

Carefully place it on top of a filled chocolate piece and lightly press it into place. Be careful to not apply too much pressure, or your chocolate balls will break.

Then use your finger to smooth melted chocolate around the seam of the ball. Continue this process until all the chocolate bombs are sealed.

6. Decorate your bombs.

Melt the white chocolate chips in 15 second intervals until melted. Then carefully pour or spoon the remaining semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in piping bags. If you don’t have piping bags, you can also use Ziploc bags and cut the tip of one corner off of the bag.

Then, all you have to do is drizzle the chocolate over the top of the bombs to decorate, let the chocolate drizzles set for about an hour, and you’re all done!

Aren’t these hot cocoa balls beautiful?!

How to Serve the Hot Chocolate Bombs

To turn your hot chocolate bombs into the perfect cup of hot cocoa, place the bomb in the bottom of a mug. Then pour one cup of hot milk over the top of the bomb and watch it “explode” into yummy hot cocoa. When the chocolate is completely melted, give your cocoa a good stir to combine the cocoa mix and marshmallows with the milk.

Here’s a video showing the hot chocolate bombs in action:

So FUN, right?!

Other Hot Cocoa Ball Ideas

You can get creative with your hot chocolate bombs by switching up the decorations on top. Here are some other ideas for how to decorate your cocoa balls of goodness:

• crush candy canes to sprinkle on top
• add a few red hot candies to the top with some more melted chocolate for a fun cinnamon twist
• sprinkle red and green sprinkles on top
• decorate with white snowflake sprinkles
• place edible gold flakes on top
• melted candy melts to make colored drizzles
• dust the tops with powdered sugar

The possibilities are endless… Just remember, if it will be good added to a cup of cocoa, it will be good on top of your hot chocolate balls!

What are some of your favorite Christmas treats? Are you a classic hot chocolate kind of girl… or do you like unique sweets? Leave me a comment down below! I’d LOVE to hear from you!

And be sure to check out some of my other fun Christmas ideas:

• Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt with Free Printable List
• Yummy Chocolate Apple Christmas Treats for Kids
• Rice Krispie Treats Christmas Tree

And happy nesting!