Everything you love about white chocolate is transformed into a rich, creamy hot cocoa with these White Chocolate Cocoa Bombs. Perfect for keeping warm through the fall and winter months.
I remember the first time I had white chocolate. I was nine. It was in my Easter basket. And it was the best thing I had ever eaten in my life (at the time). The chocolate was sweeter and softer than milk chocolate, and incredibly creamy with the aroma and flavor of vanilla.
We don’t get cold snaps often in Florida, but when we do, I head straight for the hot cocoa. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with dropping these Hot Cocoa Truffle Bombs into a cup of hot milk for my warm drink fix, and it works perfectly with white chocolate, too.
How To Make Hot Cocoa Bombs
The method is the same: melt chocolate with cream, let it rest in the fridge for a few hours to firm up, roll into balls that get coated in more chocolate or peppermint candies, and plop into hot milk for a better-than-instant cup of cocoa.
The recipe, however, is just a little bit different than the hot cocoa bombs with regular chocolate. Because the white chocolate is softer and creamier due to the high content of cocoa butter, it behaves differently than regular chocolate. This recipe uses less cream, and I also used a candy bar instead of baking chocolate; white chocolate chips could also be used.
Is White Chocolate Really Chocolate?
Think of white chocolate as a cousin of regular chocolate in the sense they have one ingredient in common: cocoa butter. Other than the cocoa butter, these two confections are considered so vastly different, that the FDA set strict definitions for what is considered to be chocolate or white chocolate.
White chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter in order to be called “white chocolate,” but with no mention of cocoa nibs or fat. Chocolate, on the other hand, must contain at least 10% “cocoa mass,” which includes nibs and cocoa fat from the bean, but no guidelines or restrictions on cocoa butter.
How Do I Create Different Hot Cocoa Bomb Flavors?
The white chocolate is considered a neutral flavor, so it’s the perfect base for all kinds of mix-ins! My favorite is a little bit of nutmeg and cinnamon to create an eggnog flavored hot cocoa bomb. Below are additional suggestions:
- Peppermint extract: ⅛ tsp.
- Almond extract: ⅛ tsp.
- Ground cinnamon: ½ tsp.
- Ground nutmeg: ¼ tsp. (tastes like eggnog!)
- Rum: 1 tsp.
- Ground cardamom: ¼ tsp.
White Chocolate Cocoa Bombs Recipe
Everything you love about white chocolate is transformed into a rich, creamy hot cocoa – perfect for keeping warm through the fall and winter months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 3 hours 11 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 oz. white chocolate bar, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint hard candies or candy canes
- 3 cups scalding hot milk, cream, or half-and-half
Instructions
- Make the ganache. In a microwave-safe, medium glass bowl, stir together white chocolate, cream, and salt. Microwave on high, 30 seconds.
- Remove bowl from microwave. Cover with plastic wrap, let stand 3 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap. Using a spatula, stir, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until ingredients are well combined and smooth.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap, transfer to refrigerator. Chill until ganache is firm but pliable, about 3 hours, up to overnight.
- Divide ganache into four equal portions. Working quickly with gloved hands, roll each portion into a ball and place on parchment-lined sheet pan.
- In a gallon-sized plastic zipper bag, add crushed peppermint candies. Transfer ganache balls to bag. Seal tightly and gently shake to coat.
- To make hot cocoa: Place one hot cocoa bomb in an 8-oz. mug; add 3/4 cup of the scalding hot milk, cream, or half-and-half. Let stand 30 seconds, then stir until hot cocoa bomb is dissolved. Top with favorite hot chocolate toppings. Repeat for additional cups of hot chocolate.
Notes
- When rolling, if the ganache becomes too warm to handle, pop it into the freezer for 5 or 10 minutes to firm up.
- A double boiler (bain Marie) method can also be used for heating ingredients together.
- Store at room temperature up to 7 days, in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer up to two months. Bring to room temperature before using.
This post originally appeared in February and was revised and republished in December 2022.
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