Easy Hot Cocoa Bombs

The nice thing about these hot chocolate or hot cocoa bombs is that there is really no limit on what you can put inside these little treats along with the cocoa mix. They are all the rage this year and are getting hard to find, but are fairly easy to make at home, especially with the right mold. And what a great gift idea!

What makes this recipe easy is the large mold that enables you to not have to fuse together two different halves like this…

I tried that, but I just didn’t have the time or patience to try to get the two halves to get together. That is when I decided to try a different mold….

These molds are large enough to fit all the goodies in, and then you can just spread the chocolate over them, chill, and remove!

This is all you will need…

• Hot cocoa mix
• Miniature or dehydrated marshmallows
• Candy melts
• Any other candies or sprinkles you would like to add to the bombs
• The candy mold above.

There are several brands, flavors and colors of candy melts available, depending on what kind of a flavor you want….

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One bag of these are enough to make 6 of the bombs.

Melt the candy melts in a double boiler or microwave at 15 second intervals until they are melted. Use a paint brush or small spoon and paint about a tablespoon of the melted chocolate into each circle.

Make sure all sides are covered and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove and put 1 tablespoon of marshmallows in each circle.

There are only 5 here because one cracked and I had to eat it! Then add 1 tablespoon of cocoa mix to each circle.

Then add baking chips or m&m’s or sprinkles, or crushed candy canes, heath or caramel or peanut butter chips? Or – just use your imagination! Maybe a spoon of something like this? Get creative!

I used rainbow colored baking chips and some snowflake sprinkles.

Spoon the rest of the melted chocolate onto the top and spread over the top of the circles.

Place back in the freezer and let sit for another ten minutes until hardened, then turn over and pop them out of the molds and trim any loose strands of chocolate off the bottom. Here is what you now have.

For the top, I melted a few red and green candy melts and piped the squigglys on with a piping bag.

Then I added some sprinkles on top.

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That’s it! Add one bomb to 8 ounces of steamed milk and enjoy! They da bomb!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sea Salt Coconut Haystacks (Quarantine Cookies)

I was looking through our pantry to see what we had that I could use to make something to satisfy my sweet tooth while sheltering in place. I found some coconut, oatmeal, and a few partial bags of baking chips. Hmmm… let’s see what we can make using those items!

Note: I had a variety of baking chips available, but you can use any flavor or combination of flavors in this recipe. Just make sure they equal 1 2/3 cup total.

Cook / Prep Time – 1 hour

Servings 1 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 can condensed milk
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/3 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Toast 1 cup of the coconut in the oven until browned. Remove and set aside. In a double boiler, melt the butter, the condensed milk and all of the baking chips together, stirring frequently.

In another bowl, mix the oats, the toasted coconut, and the other coconut flakes.

When all the baking chips are melted, add the sea salt and vanilla and blend together.

Place some parchment paper on a sheet pan and spray with pan spray. Use a scoop or spoon and spray it with pan spray, too.

When the baking chips are melted and smooth, take off the heat and stir in the coconut and oatmeal mixture. When blended, scoop up the mixture by the spoonful and place on the parchment paper. Sprinkle sea salt on the top of each.

These are sinfully delicious!

Place in the refrigerator and chill until cooled and firm. That’s it!

**Warning – you may consider adapting a self isolating exercise regimen after eating several of these!

Enjoy!

Suggested self quarantine playlist to listen to while preparing these….

“U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer from his 1990 album “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em” that features the opening riff of the Rick James song, “Superfreak”

“Too Much Time on My Hands” by Styx from their 1981 album “Paradise Theatre”

“Alone” by Heart from their 1987 album “Bad Animals”

“Keep Your Hands to Yourself” by The Georgia Satellites from their 1986 album, Georgia Satellites”