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Kicking Off Our New Fall Hot Cocoa Bomb E-Book

10/9/2020

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
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    It is getting to be the time of year when Hot Cocoa Bombs are really popular!  There will be cold evenings around people's fire pits or fireplaces.  There will be brisk mornings when a cup of hot cocoa will be perfect to warm everyone up and a nice cup of hot cocoa with Christmas cookies are just the thing to evoke the holiday spirit!
 
     If you have been following along with us here on the blog, you know that we had a contest to see who could come up with some fabulous ideas for Fall Hot Cocoa Bomb Flavors.  We received so many excellent suggestions.  Our plan with these new flavors was to add them to our list of other Hot Cocoa Bomb Flavors that are perfect for Fall. We've also noticed a surge in the sale of our original Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea E-book that we sell in our Etsy Shop. It is fun to see how many people are latching on to our Hot Cocoa Bomb idea and making their own bombs! But, we haven't seen anyone with the number of amazing flavors that we have, so we knew that it would be awesome to put out a Fall Favorites Book and give you some new recipes for some of the many flavors we have developed over the 6 years that we have been making Hot Cocoa Bombs. Here are the reasons that you are going to want this book:
  • Awesome Fall flavor recipes and the secret ingredients that we use to make them work in Hot Cocoa Bombs! 
  • Tips and tools that we use to make them with ease! 
  • New pictures of ways to decorate your bombs so that everyone will love just to look at them before turning them into delicious Hot Cocoa! 
    Not only are we sharing the fantastic news about our new e-book, we have one more bit of fun news! We have surpassed 100 sales in our Etsy shop! So, to celebrate, we are giving our readers and followers a code to receive a 15% discount on everything in our shop!  That discount starts today and ends Monday, so be sure to hurry to the shop to take advantage of it!  This is your chance to get new Fall Favorites Book for 15% off!  So, are you ready for the code?  When you check out, put in code 100SALE and you will receive the discount! 
    Not only will you receive the discount for both of our Hot Cocoa Bomb E-Books, but we have so many other items that you will enjoy!  This is the perfect time to purchase For The Love Of Pie, our e-book full of delicious pie recipes!  You will be all ready for Thanksgiving!  If you have had your eye on the Adventures With Grandparents Posters or Booklets, now is a great time to get them as well! 
    Thank you so much for following us and being a part of our Hot Cocoa Bomb story! Do you want to know what one of my favorite things about Hot Cocoa Bombs is? It is the bubbles that come out when it starts to melt in the hot milk, then up pop the marshmallows!  That always makes me smile!  
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How To Make Hot Cocoa Bombs the 3 Winks Way

12/3/2019

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This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.
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    This is the first year in many years that we haven't participated in a craft show and sold our beloved Hot Cocoa Bombs.  So many of our past customers have contacted me wanting to know where we are!  Many are discovering our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea booklet on Etsy.  So, I thought today I would re-post our original tutorial that shows how to make the best and most entertaining Hot Cocoa ever!  
The time has come! I am going to introduce the method we use to make our Hot Cocoa Bombs with all of their chocolaty goodness and hidden surprises!  Believe me, it took a lot of trial and error to get them to come out the way we imagined them.  Today, I am going to start you out with the basic Chocolate Marshmallow Bomb.  After that, the flavors and decorating ideas are endless.
To begin, here are the tools and supplies I use:
Wilton Brownie Pop Molds (Easy to order through Amazon!) Here is the kind I am using, and here is a Halloween one!  You can sometimes find Christmas ones as well! 
One double boiler
One soup sized spoon
One teaspoon

One rubber spatula
1 bag of chocolate chips per tray (I use whatever is on sale.)
Nesquik
Marshmallows
​Candy Melts and sprinkles to decorate

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You actually need two bags of chips to do two trays of bombs.
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 Instructions:
     Begin by using a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips over hot water.  That is the best way to melt the chocolate to a creamy consistency and to avoid burning it. (Don't let the water run out in the bottom, or you will burn it.)  If you temper the chocolate correctly, it will make the chocolate shine when it cools.
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    * I want to note here that you may be tempted to try to melt flavored chips to make the shell of your bombs. My experience has been that the cinnamon, mint and other flavored chips do not harden as well to make a firm shell.  If you want to use those flavors in your cocoa, you may use them inside the shell as I will show you in future tutorials.
So, melt the chips until they are smooth and silky chocolate!
    After the Chocolate has melted nicely, use the soup spoon filled as pictured below to put chocolate into the cavity of the mold. 
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I know, I am kind of messy.
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After filling all of the molds, use the teaspoon to swirl the chocolate around to form the shells.
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Next, I put them in the freezer to harden for at least 20 min.  (Usually I get busy and forget to get them out to finish hours later, but either way works).  Anyway, after they are hardened, take them out of the freezer.  The next step is very important if you do not want to break most of your shells.  After a lot of broken bombs and frustration, we discovered this method. Pop the shells out of the mold like this:  FIRST-stretch the mold a little bit around the shells. SECOND-flip the mold over and push them out from the bottom onto a towel or waxed paper. THIRD-pop them back into the molds.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FILL THEM BEFORE POPPING THEM OUT THE FIRST TIME.  THIS WILL ONLY FRUSTRATE YOUR LIFE!
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Stretch the mold gently.
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Push them out, gently.
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Oops, this one has a little hole.  That is okay, just patch it up with a quick dot of chocolate from the chocolate that is left over for the tops.  If you aren't quick the hot chocolate will just melt the hole bigger, so it takes a quick touch and pop it back into the mold.
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Now, it is time to fill them!  One of the best things about these Hot Cocoa Bombs is that the marshmallows pop up from them when it is time to melt and drink your bomb!   So, the first thing we do is pack them with 5 or 6 mini marshmallows.  Then, we put about a tsp and a half of Nesquick in with the marshmallows. We have used the store brand of chocolate milk mix, but we have discovered that the Nestle brand, Nesquik, really does dissolve more smoothly.
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Finally, we top them with a last layer of melted chocolate!
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Use just a teaspoon full of the chocolate. Slide it on top with the spatula and then use the spoon to tap it out to the edges to cover the entire top with chocolate, sealing it to the edges.
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Back in the freezer they go for another 20 minutes or more.  Then you pop them out and the decorating begins!
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I kept these simple using a little white topping.  The candy melts harden quickly on the frozen cocoa bombs.  
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Time to taste them!  Make some nice, hot milk.  I love real cocoa made in milk rather than the water kind. Don't you?  Fill your mug about 3/4 full of the hot milk, drop in your Hot Cocoa Bomb, and stir! You will love it!
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Up pops the mallows! Yum!

​* Since we first came up with the Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea, we have developed many flavors and ideas as we have progressed! We have a Hot Cocoa Bomb Recipe and Idea book available for purchase here! 


If you would like to watch a video that shows how to make Hot Cocoa Bombs, go here to our YouTube Channel and watch! Be sure to follow us there and here as well. Thanks! 


38 Comments

Friday Faves #34, Now Fun Friday! "Welcome Fall" Free Printable!

9/13/2019

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This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for purchases made through our links. Thank you for your support!

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Lindsey took this photo in France!
I wrote this post almost 2 years ago, just before my little granddaughter Sofia was born! Since the Autumnal Equinox is on Monday, I thought I would share it again for Fun Friday this week! There are lots of links that you can follow to past craft posts and past recipes.  I will link to a few other ones below.  I hope you enjoy the memories! 
      Hello from California! I am with Alicia waiting for her new baby girl to be born!  Since today is the first day of Fall, we are all working together on our Friday Fave post for our favorite season. I know that some people feel like Fall is the favorite holiday of too many people, so they want to be different. Or, maybe they don't like pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice.  But, around here at 3 Winks, we love the fall for so many reasons.  So, today's Friday Fave question is perfect for us:
What is your favorite thing about Fall?
     It was funny because when I asked my girls this question, Alicia and Lindsey each gave me an almost identical response. They both said that in the Fall there are a lot of things to celebrate and reasons to get together with family.  We have an extra abundance of reasons to get together in our family because all 3 of my daughters and one of my daughters-in-law have birthdays in October. Then, there is Halloween, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving.  As Lindsey put it, Fall signifies the start of the holiday season!  You bake yummy food and spend more time with family.  In many places, not necessarily in Phoenix, the world changes color and the air is crisp and wonderful! You get to start wearing scarves and gloves.
     I was surprised that the first thing that Lindsey mentioned wasn't pumpkins! If you read Renny's Recipes, you know of her love of all things pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.  It was heart warming to see that she and Alicia thought of family first!  But, Lindsey did mention that in the Fall she can eat pumpkin things without being judged!
     Maddy also surprised me. I thought that she would mention Halloween first since she loves Halloween.  That isn't surprising because her whole childhood she had Halloween themed birthday parties.  But, actually the first thing she said that she loves about the season is making Fall crafts.  You can see examples of her crafts here and here!
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    Here is what I love about Fall. 
  • The weather starts to cool off so there are so many things you feel like doing that you couldn't do all summer, like take walks and bake!
  • I also love all of the reasons to get together with family and friends!
  • Just like Maddy, I love the fun fall crafts that make everywhere look like a magical place!  Here are some crafts for this season that we have done in the past, here, here and here.
  • You get to start eating so many good comfort foods that you don't eat in the summer because it is too hot, like soup, apple cider or Hot Cocoa Bombs!  (Speaking of Hot Cocoa Bombs, be sure to snag the free booklet on our printables page while you can, because soon it will not be free anymore! More developments are coming!)
Don't forget to order your molds for Hot Cocoa Bombs here! They are on sale for a good price right now!
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Some Halloween Cocoa Bombs!
     Because we love Fall so much, we decided to make a print to celebrate the season and share it with you, our readers!  We collected all of the things that we love about the Fall and put them into one beautiful reminder created by Alicia!  We hope that you love it!
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Fall Favorites Printable
Welcome Fall! Enjoy the season everyone!  Click the photos below for more Fun Friday Ideas!  (Or any day really!)
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Spooky Light Up Halloween Wreath
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Friday Faves #80-That Hot Cocoa Bomb Time of Year!

11/9/2018

2 Comments

 
This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.
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     For those of you who have just joined us here at 3 Winks Design, you may not realize that the reason we started this blog is because of this little creation of ours called Hot Cocoa Bombs!  They are the most delicious and excitingly fun way to drink Hot Cocoa!  This is the time of year when I get in full Hot Cocoa Bomb mode, making them like crazy for an annual craft show.  The craft show has changed this year, but we are still doing one and I have been busy making them again.  It never gets old because:
  1. We created them and that gives me so much satisfaction! 
  2. They really do taste great!
  3. It is so much fun to watch the bubbles when you drop them in the milk and to see the marshmallows rise to the top!  I love it at the craft show when people order one to drink at the show and they drop the bomb in the hot milk and start to stir.  One teenager who was at the show with a robotics club said, " Wow!  We are here doing robotics, but YOU come up with this!  Genius!"  Ha Ha, what a great compliment.  Little kids get so excited with these things, too. 
  4. Since creating the original Cocoa Bombs about 4 years ago, We have come up with so many new flavors! Trying new flavors keeps it from getting boring. 
  5. Hot Cocoa Bombs make wonderful gifts!  I have sent them to family members and friends.  Once a PTA bought a bunch from us for teacher gifts!  Parents have also purchased them from us to put with a mug as a teacher gift.  
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    So, for Friday Faves #80 today, I thought I would do a throwback to some of our favorite Hot Coca Bomb posts and ideas! You will notice how our blog has evolved over these past 4 years as well!    
  • Our first post called, "Cocoa Bomber" is when we introduced ourselves and our Cocoa Bombs.  We were sure we would become an overnight Success!  Ha Ha! 
  • Then we made a tutorial showing how to make them! How to Make Hot Cocoa Bombs! 
  • When we came up with Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hot Cocoa Bombs, we produced a video showing how to make them! 
  • Last year we did Gingerbread Hot Cocoa Bombs and made a free printable to go with them!  What a great gift!  Hot Cocoa bombs with a little framed print! Perfect for the holidays! 

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     If you want to make your own Hot Cocoa Bombs, you can go to the above mentioned tutorial and video.  We have also published a Hot Cocoa Bomb Book that will help you with how to make them, the flavors and ways to decorate them! 
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    Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs!  (copyrighted)
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    Author

    Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven!  I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born.  Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out!  Read more about us here!
        

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    Click this link and visit 3WinksDesignShop on Etsy. Find our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, our For the Love of PIe e-book and more of our creations!


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