Okay so, let me be honest, if you follow along over on the TWE Facebook chat page , You know that this teacher gift is a take two. I originally set out to make bath bombs with this gem mold and let me tell ya, bath bombs were just all bombs for me. I regret not taking pics of the mess that followed that brilliant idea. I am a real believer that DIY shouldn't cost more than a fancy meal, shouldn't take 5 hours, and should be an easy and fun process. I couldn't in good faith pretend that I knew what I was doing making them, or that I loved doing it. (But if anyone actually knows how, hit me up, bc I need vindication for myself LOL).
That leads me here. Take two. I had a poll on said Facebook page asking bath bombs or chocolates, so since bombs were just that, candy it is! Now, I am no chocolatier or baker for that matter, but I had a blast making these. Super easy, pretty cheap and honestly, fun! So let's get into it!
What you will need: A chocolate mold, I used this one // Melting Chocolate, I used my tried and true Target special , I chose this because I know it's easy to work with, I am afraid of a double boiler and it's white, which means it's easy to add color too // food coloring // a filling of your choice, I used pre-made, store bought caramel // Sprinkles, I always buy the little bags at Michael's because they are cheap and I don't need a huge container left over, hidden in the back of my cabinet for the rest of eternity. These to be exact // Some sort of container to gift said chocolates in once done. We will get to what I used in a minute.
Now, let's go!
I started by melting half the box of the chocolate according to the box instructions, ie: popping it into the microwave. Now, let me be a little more honest, I was so concerned about not getting this craft right and having a second fail, I didn't do the best at documentation of the process. But once it was melted, I split it up into three little bowls, added a few drops of color and mixed. I didn't mix the purple as well as I should have, leaving a marble effect that I actually ended up loving.
Once mixed, I simply poured a very small amount of chocolate into each mold. I spread it up onto the edges to make sure the whole mold was covered in a thin layer. Basically I was left with a little cup of hollow chocolate. I let that set for about 25 minutes. Once it was dry to the touch, I just squeezed in a dime sized amount of caramel. I melted the other half of the chocolate, mixed the colors again and filled the rest of the molds with the remaining chocolate. Let me give you a pro tip make sure you are only melting the chocolate you need when you need it. Otherwise it will harden before you are ready to work with it!
I left the chocolates to harden for an hour. It could have been a lot less time, but I got wrapped up in my son wanting me to play Elsa to his Anna. But I digress. I popped the candies out and admired my work. I couldn't believe it worked!
I noticed the edges were a bit rough, I had seen online that if you take a hot knife and cut alone the edges, it will give a clean finish, I did just that and it worked like a charm. I will also note, make sure to fill the molds to the top and smooth it off before leaving them to dry. I did that on the second batch and it was much nicer in the end! So, As much as I loved them, I felt like they needed a bit of pizzazz, so I took a little more chocolate (I had reserved one small piece of the chocolate for melting "Just in case") I melted it up to use as a glue. I dipped each gem into a small amount of chocolate and then dipped into sprinkles. They came out pretty darn cute if I say so myself!
I made a second batch with one small difference, I put the sprinkles in the mold first, and then repeated the exact same process as before. I will say, I like this effect much better!
So, now that they were all done, dried and ready for gifting, I knew I needed something to actually, you know, gift them in. I hit up the Target dollar spot and found a couple cute options. First, a traditional heart chocolate tin, cost a whole dollar! I also found this cute little candy jar, which personally, I love! It was a whole $3.
All in all, this was a really fun, easy, and delicious way of going the extra mile for the people that go the extra mile every single day for our kiddos. Teachers, the real gems of this world!
Until next time,
XOXO, Megan E Badger