The food out here

Hot chocolate is the bomb

By HUNTER HILL
Posted 12/22/22

Nothing pleases all crowds, young and old, quite so much as a good old-fashioned hot chocolate. However, not every cup of hot chocolate need be old-fashioned.

When my wife first mentioned hot …

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The food out here

Hot chocolate is the bomb

Hot chocolate bombs are absolutely... the bomb. A delicious gift for a cold winter day, hot chocolate bombs are easy to make.
LEFT: Hot chocolate bombs are absolutely... the bomb.
RR photo by Hunter HIll
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RR photo by Hunter HIll
Posted

Nothing pleases all crowds, young and old, quite so much as a good old-fashioned hot chocolate. However, not every cup of hot chocolate need be old-fashioned.

When my wife first mentioned hot chocolate bombs to me, all I could think of was those bath bombs that dissolve into a bubble bath when you drop the ball into the water. Without clarification, I imagined the horror of a scene not unlike that of the “Caddyshack” film, where a rogue chocolate bar was released into the public swimming pool.

Sensing my lack of hesitation, my lovely wife explained that hot chocolate bombs functioned like bath bombs in that when they were deposited in hot water or milk, they would dissolve, creating a fresh piping mug of Christmas cheer.

Which makes them equally as efficient to use as instant cocoa mix. I figured these would be a far more decadent option than simply dumping a bag of powdered cocoa in.

As my wife began lining up all the various chocolate ingredients, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

After seeing the menagerie of chocolate-pasted bowls and plates, I was only slightly less enthused about the endeavor, but since we had a dishwasher for the bulk of the cleanup, I wasn’t too put off.

Apparently her recipe was adapted from a number of similar recipes she had been perusing online. Her decisions on some of the optional ingredients, such as crushed creme-filled sandwich cookies, were purely due to the need to empty leftover treats from our cupboards, but hey, who’s complaining?

I’m not normally a big sweet-tooth guy—don’t get me wrong, I love my baked goods, and I won’t shy from a cookie—but when it comes to things with concentrated amounts of chocolate or sugar, I tend to pause. The big determining factor here was that it was snowing out and there was truly no better option for a hot wintertime drink than this marvelous dark creation.

Our son Rorick also has been on a hot chocolate kick as of late, and Christmas is nothing if not an outlet for spoiling your children with all the wonderment you can excuse.

Suffice it to say, that evening his face was smeared with chocolate, and he snored on the couch like a tranquilized rhinoceros. Parents often knock the whole sugar-high thing, but to me, it’s simply physics. What goes up, must come down, hence the crash and the blissful naptime that we as parents needed more than our progeny.

So if you need a simple idea to entertain guests, or even give as a Christmas favor or gift, try these little suckers out. If your kids are a little older than ours, I might even suggest making a craft activity out of it. Just remember to prep the wipes for cleanup, and the pillows for the fallout.

Hot chocolate bombs

Recipe courtesy of Chelsea Hill

  • 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)
  • Crushed creme-filled sandwich cookies, to taste (optional)

You will also need:

  • Four half-sphere silicone molds

Heat the dark chocolate chips until melted. Pour into bowl.

Paint the inside of half-sphere molds with one layer of chocolate and refrigerate until set.

Make the ganache by heating one cup of heavy cream until simmering. Add to the bowl of dark chocolate chips, and use a whisk to combine until smooth. Add peppermint extract and stir to combine.

Remove the mold from the fridge. Paint on a second layer and chill again for about 10 minutes.

Once the ganache has cooled and chocolate has set in molds, remove the half-spheres from the mold. Fill with ganache and add a few mini-marshmallows.

To seal the halves together, heat a plate for about 30 seconds in the microwave. Gently rest the spheres on the plate to slightly melt the edges. Stick the two halves together.

Place finished spheres in cupcake liners to cool and serve.

Try this: Crushed creme-filled sandwich cookies can be added to the ganache to create unique variations.

hot chocolate, hot chocolate bombs

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