Melt into a cup of kindness with these homemade hot chocolate bombs

As part of our Make the Season Kind campaign, CBC Edmonton is highlighting the work our community has done to help others in 2021.

A Christmas challenge in 2020 blew up, so to speak, and ended with me whamboozled into making 1,500 hot chocolate bombs.

For the past seven years, my dear friend Kristina Disney (why yes, she is related to that Disney) and I have completed 12 yearly holiday tasks, such as putting personal ads in the newspaper.

While the ad for my surly sourdough starter Petunia did not score a date, Kristina managed to get a hopeful call from an inmate at a Saskatchewan correctional facility. 

Last year, one of the challenges was to make hot chocolate bombs. After successfully making several, I made a small For Sale post on Facebook and within hours was inundated with orders.

For a month, I chained myself to the stove and bought all the chocolate, sprinkles and marshmallows I could find. 

Through failure, burns and occasional tears, I managed to write down this recipe as well as some helpful tips. Enjoy!

Liam's Hot Chocolate Bombs

Makes 6

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of good quality chocolate. Can be chocolate chips or candy melts if you're desperate.
• 200 grams of hot chocolate mix. Get the good stuff. It's Christmas, after all!
• Spray bottle of edible lustre dust. I use gold and silver but to each their own rainbow.
• Sprinkles. Most recipes say this is optional ... but who doesn't need more sprinkles in their life?
• 250 grams of candy melts. I usually use white, but whatever tickles your fancy.
• Mini marshmallows.
• Flavourings — candy canes, coffee, chai tea mix, hard caramels, chili spice. (These are also optional, but 'tis the season to be adventurous.) 

Equipment:

• Two round silicon mould sets. I use half-moons with a 2.64-inch diameter.
• Two baking trays.
• Pastry bag with a small round decorating tip.
• Double boiler or microwave-safe bowl.
• Spatula.
• Microwave-safe plate.
• Small paintbrush.
• Soup spoon.

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or microwave it in 15- to 20-second spurts. Mix between spurts with a spatula until melted.

Spoon up to three tablespoons of chocolate into each mould, spreading evenly with the back of the spoon. 

Allow chocolate to set. This takes about an hour, so perhaps take out the cribbage board. 

Pop out the chocolate shells onto a baking sheet.

Heat up a plate in the microwave for about 60 seconds. One at a time, place the chocolate shells seam-side down on the plate for a second or two, until the edges are even. Move quickly as your hands will melt the chocolate. You can use gloves to be fancy.

Place on baking trays, open end facing up. 

Fill half of the chocolate shells with about two to three tablespoons of hot chocolate mix. For more adventure, add flavourings.

Add mini-marshmallows. I like five, but the world is your oyster. 

Heat the plate again in a microwave. One at a time, briefly place the empty chocolate shells onto the plate, seam-side down, until the chocolate edges melt slightly.

Working quickly, place empty shells on top of filled shells, lining up the edges to seal. Try not to panic. 

If there are gaps, dip a small paintbrush into the melted chocolate left behind on the plate and dab along the edges of the chocolate sphere. Channel your inner Picasso.

Spray with lustre dust to make them sparkle.

Melt candy melts in the microwave, for about 15 to 20 seconds at a time. Mix between heatings until melted. 

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round decorating tip with the liquid candy melt. Working quickly, drizzle over the bombs. Coat with sprinkles if desired and add other decorations to be hoity-toity. 

Serve:

Heat milk for each hot chocolate bomb. Place the bomb into a mug, pour steaming milk on top and watch it explode. 

These bombs are big, so choose a larger mug. Remember, sharing is caring. 

Notes:

Some purists may GASP that my recipe does not ask you to temper the chocolate. You certainly can, which will get you a beautiful sheen and keep on you Willy Wonka's good side, but it's not necessary. The sparkles of the lustre dust will hide many imperfections, like fingerprints, shame and blooming — dusting or streaking across the surface of the chocolate.

Since the chocolate is made with dry ingredients, it can last for several weeks, if not months. It may become "dusty" in appearance over time, but it's only the cocoa butter separating from other ingredients and nothing that can't be fixed with a scalding cup of hot milk.