Hot Cocoa Bombs Are The Viral Food Trend That's Warming Up Our Winter

I grew up in the ‘80s in the Northeast in the middle of nowhere. Yes, that meant there wasn’t much to do and I had to entertain myself. One of the things I loved doing after school on a winter afternoon as the sun was setting and tuning the sky purple was to make myself a cup of hot cocoa.

This was one of the few times I felt I could sneak in a couple extra spoonfuls of sugar since we didn’t have a lot of money and our sugar intake was limited. (Am I the only one who could choke down a dry spoonful of Nestle Quik without muttering a sound?)

I’d take the tin container of Nestle Quik and dip my spoon in and pull out a heaping spoonful of cocoa, then dunk it into my mug of microwaved milk. (We never got the individual hot cocoa packets and I didn’t care; there wasn’t enough cocoa in those for me anyway.)

I discovered if you stuck the spoon of magic powder into the milk without stirring it, then lifted it back out, the top layer of cocoa would become wet and peel off into the hot chocolate, revealing a dry layer of cocoa on your spoon.

I must have spent hours of my childhood watching that Quik peel off into my mug — and let me tell you, for a kid in those days it was entertainment at its finest. When I showed my other siblings the magic, they thought I was pretty amazing.

So, when my kids sent me a TikTok video showing a large chocolate ball exploding in a mug, revealing dry cocoa powder, marshmallows and other deliciousness, it reminded me of those days in standing in my childhood kitchen next to the avocado-green stove watching cocoa powder float to the top of my mug in fascination, wondering how it stayed dry.

I mean, have you ever seen anything so damn amazing in your life? I must have watched that video ten times before I was able to speak.

Where do you get these?

Or better yet, can I make these?

Why am I just finding out about these now?

After doing a bit of digging, I discovered you can make these with your family right in the comfort of your own home. While we haven’t tried it yet, I’ve pinned all the videos and I’m waiting for my molds to come as we speak.

It’s exactly the adventure I needed to look forward to in my life, especially during a holiday break with my kids during a pandemic. After all, we’ve made dozens of loaves of bread, and tried a few other crazy TikTok trends like pickles rolled in hot Cheetos, bacon S’mores, and cookies made with Fritos. Hot chocolate bombs are something we would all love … and normal enough that I wouldn’t have to give my taste buds a talking-to before trying.

Even if you don’t enjoy hot cocoa (who hurt you?), then at least you can get the satisfaction of making something really freaking cool. Not to mention, I could watch these puppies explode all damn day. I mean, we have nowhere else to be these days anyway.

You can get your molds here, and get full instructions to make your own here.

Besides the molds, all you need is some good melting chocolate, a microwave or double boiler, and hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, and whatever else you want to put inside (I’m adding chocolate chips in my bombs, because I’m insatiable).

However, if you don’t have the time or energy to make them yourself, you can order some and have them arrive right at your doorstep.

To be honest, I might have to do both. I always have these magical images of doing a project like this with my kids and it never goes the way I plan it.

We make a mess, I’m exhausted and swearing, and all the time together makes us hate each other and we don’t enjoy the finished project together.

Of course that’s never stopped me from having high hopes and trying something new. I’ve already decided a bomb of chocolate will be worth whatever it leaves in its wake.

Let the chocolate melting (and drinking) begin. Or, you could be like me and try this simple hot cocoa bomb hack: Suck the insides of Lindt chocolate balls out and pour in some Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix. I had to at least try it. You know, for research.