Looking for an easy, last-minute gift idea? I have always been a fan of homemade gifts and this one below is equally fun and delicious to make!
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES!
Perfect for that neighbour gift you forgot to buy or alternatively – delectable enough to just hide in a corner and devour over the holidays yourself. These chocolates can be fully customized to whomever you are gifting them to therefore get creative and crazy with your toppings! This activity is also a great thing to do with kids during the winter holiday.
To start:
1. Choose your favourite chocolate – I decided to go with a blend of all three favs – white, milk and dark! I purchased a large Cadbury Dairy Milk bar that had three different layers but any chocolate will work. This treat can be also adjusted to any dietary restrictions your recipient may have. For example – use dark chocolate for people that are vegan or have diary allergies. Lindt Excellence bars that are 70%, 85%, 90% and 99% are fully vegan and they can be found in most grocery stores.
2. Choose your toppings – I decided to create three different kinds of treats to have. I thoroughly enjoyed thinking about every type of topping out there and finally settled on: one with crushed candy canes, one with toffee pieces and one with jelly beans and popping rocks – my fav! There are endless options here so have fun with it. Some examples are: mini m&ms, nuts, cranberries, peanut butter, mini Reese’s pieces, gummy bears etc.
3. Get your molds ready – you have a few options on how to fill the molds with your candy and chocolate. First I would suggest placing your molds on a lined baking sheet for easy transportation and cleanup (later on you can pop the whole tray into the freezer). If you would like some candy to show at the “top” of your chocolate – add in some candy to the bottom of each spot before you start. When filling in the area feel free to be creative! Layer chocolate, candy, chocolate, candy etc. or leave one big surprise in the middle. I also made some plain chocolate ones as well because you can never go wrong with just chocolate!
4. Start melting your chocolate – this is a slow process as you want your chocolate to melt evenly and not burn. I setup a small pot with some water and placed a heat safe bowl on top of it (if you happen to have a double boiler that’s even better!). I placed a few chunks of chocolate into the bowl and put the pot on. Once the water started to boil I put it on a low simmer as the chocolate was melting. Make sure to keep stirring the chocolate the whole time so it does not burn and slowly add in more chocolate as able to.
5. Fill your trays with the melted chocolate – I just used a regular spoon and slowly added in a bit of chocolate at a time. This helps keep messes to a minimum and does not over fill your molds in case you are looking to add in additional candy. Once my chocolate had filled the area to the top I gently slammed the tray on my counter to even out the top of the chocolate.
I must repeat the word G-E-N-T-L-Y……HA!
JMS TIP – The mold trays (from Homesense) were actually meant for ice cubes but worked perfectly for chocolate! You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money on official chocolate ones from a craft store. Keep an eye out throughout the year for sales after holidays to use next year!
6. Let COOL – once you have completed the various molds, set the full tray in your freezer overnight to harden the chocolate.
7. POP them out – once hardened you can pop the chocolates out onto a plate. Try not to touch them as they will melt easily. They are then ready to eat or give away! EASY PEASY!
What homemade gifts will you be making this season?
