Every Hot Cocoa Snack, Ranked from Worst to Best

Hot cocoa is having its pumpkin spice moment. From oatmeal to popcorn to whiskey, hot chocolate is the flavor of winter 2025. I tasted every hot cocoa-flavored product I could find and ranked them from worst to best. Here’s what nailed those cozy vibes and what Swiss Missed the mark.

Quaker Hot Cocoa Flavored Instant Oatmeal

I expected good things from this Quaker oatmeal, but it was truly just okay. The melting chocolate chips make the end texture distinctly goopy, while the flavoring is less “hot cocoa” and more “chocolate by way of powder.” And where the hell are the marshmallows?

5/10 sporks

Liquid I.V. Hot Chocolate Hydration Multiplier

“But Griffin, this list is explicitly for hot cocoa flavored products, not hot cocoa mixes themselves!” Having tried the product, I would definitely call this a hot cocoa-flavored hydration drink mix rather than a hot cocoa mix that happens to hydrate you. Liquid I.V. is so salty that this leaves the realm of “nice little wintertime drink” that classic hot cocoa is supposed to live in. If this had been a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, I could easily see this score doubling. Here’s hoping we see an updated version of this in 2026.

5.5/10 sporks

Popcorners Cocoa Crunch

I like these a lot, but there just isn’t enough flavoring! Popcorners, please take some notes from Doritos: if I can see the original color of the chip, it’s not enough. (That said, I found a great trail mix concept when I paired it with a snack coming later in this list.)

6.5/10 sporks

Swiss Miss x Hotel Tango ‘Shmallow Bourbon Whiskey

I poured myself a little of this to determine whether I could cosign our editor Justine’s 2024 review. Folks, she nailed it on the head: This is “very, very, very sweet.” This is definitely a Swiss Miss-inspired whiskey, for better or for worse. To further the experiment, I also poured myself some of Crown Royal’s Chocolate Whisky released earlier this year. Between the two, there’s no comparison; if you’re looking for a rich, authentic cocoa-y spirit to add into a mug of hot chocolate, go with the one that comes in the velvet bag.

7/10 sporks

Hot Cocoa Lindt Lindor Truffle

In my full review of this truffle, I said, “This is comfortably middle-of-the-pack for Lindt’s holiday truffle flavors,” and I stand by that. This isn’t exactly hot cocoa-y (due to the vanilla flavoring used in place of marshmallow), but it’s still a pleasant little truffle.

7/10 sporks

Peppermint Cocoa Goldfish

Our own Ariana Losch said these Teddy Graham-esque Goldfish were “a mug of peppermint hot cocoa in cracker form.” Having tried them myself, I can co-sign both the description and the score. I was conflicted by the Snoopy shapes though—who wants to eat Snoopy?

8/10 sporks

Hot Cocoa Hershey Kisses

Last month, I described these as “a hidden gem in the Hershey Kisses’ holiday lineup” in my full review. As weird as it sounds, these work so well not because of the chocolate, but because they nail the marshmallow flavoring. Hot cocoa is tough to translate into new textures, but adding marshmallow helps your brain in a major way.

8.5/10 sporks

Angie’s BOOM CHICKA POP Swiss Miss Drizzled Kettle Corn

I’m the world’s biggest popcorn hater, but this kettle corn has me in a chokehold. I have never eaten as much popcorn as I did from this single bag. The chocolate drizzle and flavoring is super strong—not a problem for me, but it might overpower weaker tongues. A mixed handful of this and the under-flavored Cocoa Crunch Popcorners? A textural heaven in snack form.

8.5/10 sporks

Amaretto Hot Cocoa Milano Cookies

I sound like a broken record at this point: these are the best Pepperidge Farm cookie. The dark chocolate and almond flavoring combination in this elevated cookie brings the holiday spirit in spades. I’ve gone through multiple bags already in the last month, and I’ll be buying more before the end of the season—if I can find them in stock anywhere.

10/10 sporks

Graeter’s Cozy Hot Cocoa Ice Cream

And finally, the best hot cocoa flavored product released in 2025: Graeter’s Cozy Hot Cocoa Ice Cream. I didn’t think “something cold” would top my ranking of hot drink-flavored products, but life is full of surprises. This rich chocolate ice cream is packed with ooey-gooey marshmallows that defy everything we know about mix-ins and freezers. Four different reviewers here at Sporked tried this ice cream, and we all cosign this score—that’s a true holiday miracle.

10/10 sporks