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*We partnered with Great Lakes Gelatin Co. to bring you this post. All the information and opinions presented here are our own.

As if we couldn’t love a mugful of hot chocolate any more, the internet gave us: the hot chocolate bomb. One part chocolate deliciousness and one part dancing entertainment in your cup, a hot chocolate bomb is essentially a hollow sphere of chocolate that is usually filled with hot cocoa mix powder (and sometimes marshmallows) that gently explode in your cup when dropped into hot milk. Decorated or even left plain, hot chocolate bombs are simple foodie fun.

But even if you’ve cut out the sugar there’s no reason why you can’t join in on the fun with our Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bomb. With only three ingredients, you’ll not only bring out your inner chocolatier and have lots of fun making these Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs, but you’ll also get the health benefits of two incredible superfoods hidden inside: cocoa and collagen. Entertaining, creamy, and pure chocolate deliciousness, you’ll love every bit of this healthy low-carb keto hot chocolate bomb recipe and your body will thank you. You’ll never miss all the added sugar, or even want it back.

What are the Health Benefits of Cocoa Powder and Chocolate?

Called the “food of the Gods” by the Mayans, and considered a superfood, cocoa powder comes from the Theobroma cacao tree, native to Central America and otherwise known as the “chocolate tree.” After the seeds are pressed and all the cocoa butter has been extracted, what remains from the seeds is ground up and cocoa powder is what you are left with. It’s the combination of cocoa powder with cocoa butter and other ingredients like vanilla and sugar that make up what we know as chocolate.

Chocolate and the cocoa powder used to make it has a high content of antioxidants called flavonoids, and minerals like iron, manganese, copper, magnesium, zinc, and phosphorus. Studies have linked the flavanols in cocoa with benefits like a reduction in inflammation and can help to relax the muscles in blood vessels which can help lower blood pressure.

Some research also suggests that cocoa powder can boost mood, help you focus better, balance hormones, improve gut health, and increase metabolism.

What are the Health Benefits of Collagen?

A super important and naturally occurring protein, collagen is found in just about every tissue in our body, including our hair, nails muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Collagen is what acts as a supportive “glue” that holds our bodies together. Our bodies are great at producing strong, healthy collagen when we’re young, but after age 25 that ability starts to decline. That is when we start to see signs of aging like wrinkles, sagging skin, poor hair and nail quality along with stiff painful joints and longer recovery time from workouts as we age.

Backed by science, collagen supplementation appears to be the key to help give your body the collagen building blocks it can’t keep up with making, maintaining, and repairing on its own. That means smoother bouncier skin youthful, better hair and stronger nails, as well as better mobility and exercise recovery.

What Makes Great Lakes Gelatin Co. Collagen Great

With all the buzz around collagen powder, it’s no surprise there are a lot of collagen supplements to choose from. But Great Lakes Gelatin Co. has been in the collagen business since 1922.

A high-quality collagen you can count on, Great Lakes Collagen is:

Derived from grass-fed and pasture-raised bovine
Paleo-friendly, KETO certified + Kosher.
The highest quality and most affordable on the market.
An easily digested body-friendly form rich in the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline which can support the building and repair of connective tissue and cell function.
Only 22 calories, with less than 1 carb, 11g of collagen protein, and 12g of Collagen Hydrolysate per serving

Easily dissolvable in cold or hot water, with no clumping, their collagen is available in a variety of different flavors and can be used in all your favorite recipes from tea and coffee, to smoothies, to breakfast bowls, pre and post-workout recovery shakes and more.

It happens to be pretty great in hot chocolate too!

Buy Great Lakes Gelatin Co. Chocolate Collagen here!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make this Low-Carb Collagen Hot Chocolate Bomb Recipe

Chocolate: To keep these bombs low carb, you can use either Semi-sweetened chocolate chips or chocolate bars which may have a small amount of sugar, OR sugar-free chocolate of choice that is sweetened with a sugar-free and keto-friendly sugar substitute. You can also use your favorite dark chocolate or other lower sugar chocolate variety.

For Approximately 2 Net Carbs of Chocolate Total per Bomb Shell: Use sugar-free chocolate that is alternatively sweetened like Lily’s or Choc-Zero.
For Approximately 8 Net Carbs Total Per Bomb Shell: Use semi-sweet (bittersweet) chocolate or chocolate that is more than 60-70% cacao.

Unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate is another option for a completely sugar-free option if you’re avoiding certain sweeteners. Not to worry because the Great Lakes Gelatin Chocolate Collagen adds most of the needed sweetness to these bombs. You can just up the amount of collagen used in the bombs by another half scoop.

Cocoa Powder: Opt for a good quality cocoa powder that is raw, unsweetened, and preferably organic for the most health benefits. There should be no other additional ingredients listed on the label except cocoa powder. Heavily processed cocoa powders lose much of their antioxidant power. We love this one but you can find some great options right at the grocery store.

Great Lakes Gelatin Chocolate Collagen Hydrolysate: Not only will this collagen add a delicious chocolatey flavor that dissolves instantly in liquids of any temp (it’s wonderful stirred into tea or coffee), but you’ll also get a nice dose of collagen protein in your Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bomb mug. Sugar-free, but sweetened with stevia and monk fruit, we found one teaspoon of GLG Chocolate Collagen (½ a scoop) is the perfect amount of sweetness per bomb if using chocolate that is sweetened and will get you 6 grams of collagen into each bomb.

If opting for unsweetened chocolate add another half scoop for a total of 9 grams of collagen.

Flavor Tip: Great Lakes Gelatin Co. also offers an unflavored collagen hydrolysate as well as vanilla and chai flavors that would also be delicious additions to these hot chocolate bombs.

Special Tools You’ll Need for These Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs

To make these low-carb Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs you’ll need at least one medium-sized semi-sphere silicone baking mold where each sphere has a diameter of about 2 inches.

We found 2 inches is the perfect size for the average mug, but there are larger sizes available too.

Keep in mind each mold will account for ½ of one hot chocolate bomb. So if a mold has 6 cavities, you will be able to make 3 hot chocolate bombs at a time.

No matter what size you go with these non-stick hot chocolate bomb molds are really inexpensive and you can find them on amazon. If you are concerned about buying another kitchen gadget, these molds stack, take up little space, and lay flat for easy storage. Plus they’re super fun and easy to work with!

How to Make the Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs

Step 1. Brush the Molds With Melted Chocolate

Lay your molds out on a flat work surface. Working one at a time, add about 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons of melted chocolate to the bottom of a mold. Then using either a small pastry brush or the back of a small spoon work the chocolate around the inside of the mold and up the sides. Be sure to get all the way up the edges and keep an eye out for spots missing any chocolate (we don’t want holes in our bombs).

Step 2. Chill for 5 Minutes

Once you’ve filled all the bombs with chocolate, you can take a knife with a straight edge, or icing spatula to scrape off any excess chocolate. Then place the bomb halves in the freezer to cool for 5-10 minutes and they’ll be ready to fill with the cocoa powder and chocolate collagen and seal.

Chocolate Bomb Tip: After chilling, if you hold your molds up to the light you’ll be able to see if there are any areas that may have missed or are too thinly coated. To fix this simply brush over again with a little more melted chocolate and chill. This will keep your bombs from cracking or spilling out any of the fillings.

Step 3. Pop The Bombs Out of the Molds and Fill Them Up

After the chocolate bombs halves have chilled (they should be hard to the touch when ready) carefully begin to peel them away from the mold. Set aside half. Fill each of the leftover bomb halves with 1 ½ teaspoons of cocoa powder and 1 to 2 scoops of the Great Lakes Gelatin Co. Chocolate Collagen. If you like things sweeter, add two. You can also add a few keto-friendly or sugar-free marshmallows as well.

Note: You can also perform step 4 before filling the Hot Chocolate Bombs to smooth out any edges if needed.

Step 4. Seal The Hot Chocolate Bombs

To seal up the hot chocolate bombs prepare a warm plate or pan and very gently place the flat edge of the bomb against it. This will do two things: flatten and clean up the edges of the chocolate bomb as well as provide a way for the two halves to stick to one another. Press the empty half on top of the filled half and press down gently to seal. Continue with the rest.Step 5. Decorate!

If you like, drizzle a little extra chocolate (white or dark) on top of the bombs and add a few sprinkles for fun. Crushed sugar-free candies like peppermint can give your Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs a whole new flavor.

How to Serve the Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs

Making hot chocolate bombs is pretty fun. But serving them is really what it’s all about!

To Serve: Heat up 8 ounces of the unsweetened milk of your choice (almond, coconut, etc.) to just below boiling. Pour the milk into your mug, drop your hot chocolate bomb in and watch the magic happen! Give it a good stir to completely dissolve all the chocolate and cocoa powder.

Now kick back and enjoy your super hot and delicious, collagen protein-rich, sugar-free Keto Collagen Hot Chocolate Bombs!

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