6. Melt the edges. Microwave a microwave-safe plate for a minute, just so it’s hot enough to melt the chocolate. Pick up the empty half-shell of the chocolate bomb and place it on the warm plate for a couple of seconds, just until it begins to melt.
Seal the two chocolate shells together. Fill one half with cocoa mix and marshmallows. Then melt the edges of the second half.
7. Fill. Add 1 tablespoon hot cocoa powder and mini marshmallows (plus any other add-ins; our favorite is crushed candy cane) to one half-sphere. Pick up another half, melt the edge on the warm plate and then push the two sides together to seal. Use your finger to smooth any excess chocolate along the seal edge.
8. Make hot chocolate. Our chocolate bombs were 2.5 inches in diameter and worked perfectly in about 12-14 ounces of steaming milk in a large mug. Start by placing a bomb in the bottom of the mug, then pour the hot milk over the top. The heat will cause the bomb to open and the marshmallows to escape!
9. Variation for coffee lovers. One variation is to add crushed candy cane and skip the marshmallows. Then add hot coffee for a peppermint mocha!
Hot chocolate bombs can be made with milk chocolate, white chocolate or dark chocolate. The key is using quality chocolate that will melt into the liquid. We tried three brands of chocolate chips and had the best luck with Ghirardelli.
If tempering chocolate is new to you, don’t be intimidated. Tempering is the process of controlling the heat of the chocolate while it’s melting to make sure it’s as strong as possible. Un-tempered chocolate is soft and dull and has a problem holding its shape. Candy melts were invented to avoid tempering, but the taste in chocolate bombs really suffers. You can temper chocolate the easy way — in the microwave — and it only takes 5 minutes.
