This Hot Chocolate Trend is Da Bomb

Maybe you’ve spotted these decadent confections on Instagram or spied them popping up behind display cases at your favorite bakeries. Hot cocoa bombs seemed like they were all the rage back in December, and they’re making a Valentine’s Day comeback with all the heart motifs, red and pink drizzle, and sprinkles you’d imagine. If these treats – on the one hand, chocolate candy; on the other, a drink mix – haven’t breached your radar, the idea is genius in its simplicity: Pour hot water or milk over the rich chocolate shells filled with hot cocoa mix (and sometimes other edible surprises) and let it all melt together into a warm cuppa.

Hot cocoa bombs are perfect for the ambitious DIYer with chocolate molds on hand, but fortunately for the rest of us, a few South County bakers are hip to the trend and getting creative to incorporate everything but the mug in these drinkable desserts.

“I enjoy following fellow home and professional bakers on my Instagram, and one day my news feed was filled with these cocoa bombs. They looked super fun, interactive,” explains Victoria Shemanski, the baker behind home operation A Piece of the Puzzle Baked Goods. She decided to give it a whirl: “We have come to love pairing the hot chocolate bombs with Pop Rocks, a basic sugar cookie with sprinkles, or jumbo chocolate chip cookies. The Pop Rocks sizzle when submerged into the liquid!”

And for Shemanski, part of the experience is sharing these baking adventures with her daughter, who is on the autism spectrum. “A small quarantine hobby has honestly blossomed into a new vision that combines my passions for baking and for those on the spectrum,” she says. V-Day will see ambitious heart-shaped bombs and marshmallows abound for the duo.

Watch for hot cocoa bomb offerings at your neighborhood bakeries, and don’t miss these Valentine’s Day varieties from local spots:

A Piece of Cake, Warwick

White, milk, and dark chocolate bombs

A Piece of the Puzzle Baked Goods, Warwick

Heart-shaped bombs with colored marshmallows

Baked by Jessica, Wakefield

Classic Cocoa and White Chocolate Peppermint bombs

Sophie’s Brewhouse, Exeter

White Chocolate Oreo and Dark Chocolate Reese’s bombs

Sweet Dee’s Cafe and Cupcakery, Warwick

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel and some peppermint varieties