Recipes for Making Your Own Delicious Chocolate Candies

Impress your family and friends with homemade candies. With everything from Peppermint Bark to No-Fail Dark Chocolate Fudge, these candies are easy and delicious. And thinking ahead to the holidays, try these recipes now and decide which will be your go-to holiday candy recipes. The Peppermint Bark is a tasty year-round candy but would be an especially good holiday candy and gift. The Marshmallow Truffles are so easy and fun to let the kids roll in colored candies to decorate. Change the colors of the decorative candies to represent whatever holiday is being celebrated. For the fudge lovers, this is one of the easiest, tastiest recipes.

PEPPERMINT CANDY MARBLE BARK CANDY
6 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
6 squares white baking chocolate
1 cup crushed peppermint candies* (about 50 round peppermint candies)

Put semi-sweet baking chocolate in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until almost melted, stirring after a minute. Stir to melt completely.

Repeat the above process with the white baking chocolate.

Stir 1/2 cup of the crushed peppermint candy into each bowl.

Line a cookie sheet that has sides with waxed paper. Alternately spoon the two bowls of chocolates onto the waxed paper. With a butter knife, swirl chocolates together to create a marble effect. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces.

This makes about 1 pound of candy.

*To crush peppermint candies, place candies in a zip-top plastic bag. Crush with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Or you could process in a food processor using pulsing action.

SO EASY MARSHMALLOW TRUFFLES
1 pkg (10-oz) large marshmallows
1 pkg (12-oz) chocolate chips
toasted coconut
various decorative candies (from the cake decorating section)

Arrange the marshmallows on a cookie sheet; freeze for 15 minutes.

Put chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir every minute.

Remove marshmallows from freezer and using a wooden skewer dip each marshmallow in the chocolate mixture until the marshmallow is completely coated. Remove the skewer.

Have some toasted coconut in a small bowl, some decorative candies in other small bowls. Roll each chocolate coated marshmallow in one of the bowl to coat. Use a fork to transfer the coated marshmallow to a waxed paper lined cookie sheet or trays. Chill or keep in a cool and dry place.

Yield: 3 to 3 1/2 dozen truffles

NO-FAIL DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE
1 can (14-oz)Sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
dash of salt, optional
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk and salt, over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans and vanilla extract. Spread the candy into an aluminum foil lined 8-inch square pan. Chill until firm, approximately 2 hours. Turn the fudge out onto a cutting surface, peel off the foil and cut into squares. Cover loosely and store at room temperature.

Yield: Approximately 2 lbs

Enjoy!

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Making Chocolate Candies? Pick the Right Molds to Entertain the Wedding Guests!

There are various kinds of candies. But homemade chocolate candies are among the best ones out there. They're simply great for wedding ceremonies. You can buy ingredients for wedding candies at specialty stores. Mix these ingredients and enjoy the fun of making candies. You can make any shapes you want with chocolate. Enjoy the fun of making designer chocolates to cater to your wedding guests. But you need the right chocolate candy molds for this.

For wedding occasions, there are various types of molds that come in diverse shapes and designs. You could buy silicone or plastic molds. There are metal molds as well. Silicone made molds or their plastic counterparts happen to be among the simplest ones you can find. Still, other ones can meet your standards too. Normally, as your chocolates become hard, they'll separate easily off the candy molds. And it's so simple to pop out the candies off their molds. It's also a great idea to add some pressure to make the chocolate candies pop out. Be it silicone or plastic molds, you can bend them a little bit, which helps the popping out.

Flat ones happen to be the most common ones among chocolate candy molds. They're quite simple for everyone to use. Again, they're suited if you make a lot of chocolates together. Flat molds create chocolate candies flat on a side and a bit decorated on the other side. They can be filled with different types of fillers as peanut butter, berry paste or caramel. Another type of chocolate is 3-D chocolate mold. They're great for much larger candies. Oftentimes, they feature a wide range of details on both sides.

However, you have to maintain the chocolate molds well. These molds usually are a one-time buy. Washing chocolate molds too often isn't the best way. At least, you don't need to wash the candy molds after each use. Instead, wash the molds if you are completely done with the candy making. Use liquid soaps for washing those. Remember that no matter how durable your candy molds look, they deserve mild cleansing and soft handling. That's the way they are made!

Regardless of how you are planning to maintain the molds, DO NOT soak those. Some people put their chocolate molds into dishwashers. But this can virtually damage the chocolate candy molds. Another mistake people make is, they break sweats by scrubbing their chocolate molds. But it is quite enough to rinse the molds in lukewarm water. Use fingers for rubbing off the liquid soaps. Be sure it's within the crevasses. Only rinse off and get it dried later on by using a tiny spongy cloth. A paper towel would also do.

Choose a cool and dry place for storing the molds. Avoid storing your chocolate candies in hot areas. This tip applies more in the summer. Some molds lose their special finish when they're exposed to heavy heat. Be sure to store your candy molds securely to ensure their longest possible lifetime.

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Chocolate Making At Home For Fun and Satisfaction

Everyone loves chocolates. Who can say no to them? They're different from other candies because they're brown, black or white! They're sweet, they're bitter or they're both! They're smooth or textured, and they can even can say your name, or show someone a special message! You can even personalize them, so why not try chocolate making at home!

Homemade chocolates are excellent for parties and they can help make your ordinary days quite special. It's easy and really fun to do! With just a few ingredients and five simple and exciting steps, you can make homemade chocolates to be proud of.

We need bulk chocolate that you can buy in any grocery store. You don't need a particular brand. Just choose any chocolate bars you or your kids love. We also need small cake cases, some candy and nuts, fruits, chocolate wafers or anything you want to mix or add to your chocolates, inside or out.

So now, let's get on our aprons and begin this enjoyable experience.

Prepare the ingredients. You can buy them or you can use your kids' chocolate bars left in the fridge. Grab some sprinkles from your kitchen and have everything set on a clean table.

Melt the chocolate. Hmm. Smells good. Sounds tempting. But please, do not be tempted! Resist putting your fingers in the mixture and licking them off! Remember, we are making homemade chocolates. Once melted, you can add some candy and nuts, chopped strawberries or blueberries or anything else to add more texture, flavor and individuality.

Pour the chocolate into a candy mold or small cases like an ice case or a small Tupperware. You can shape the chocolate by using chocolate molds, just remember to be quick to pour the chocolate mixture into the mold before it starts to set. You can now add sprinkles on top of the chocolate, like marshmallows, small stars or anything your imagination can come up with.

Place the chocolate in the fridge. Cool it there for about an hour.

Take the chocolates out of the cases or molds, and wrap them in chocolate wrappers or you can put them altogether in a bowl. Wow! Now it's chocolate-eating time!

Chocolates made at home make amazing treats for your friends and kids. It's a special feeling to eat anything that has been especially made for you, and chocolates are perhaps one of the most delicious of all tastes!

There are various reasons why people make chocolate at home and making your loved ones happy is just one of them. Another reason is maybe you want to start a chocolate-making business at home. Making chocolates is fun but it can also be very profitable.

But, why do some mothers, who are not into the business aspect, prefer making chocolates rather than buying them? Homemade chocolates taste far better than the commercial ones. This may be because with the commercial brands, something is lost in the mechanization of the process, or maybe it's the ingredients which are added to aid production, or just the lack of love, which you are able to put into your own homemade chocolates.

People whose kids or parents have special conditions or dietary challenges can also be catered for. Eating commercially made chocolates are not recommended for them. It might cause some health problems, so to still enjoy eating chocolates without having to worry about possible health issues, making homemade chocolates is the sensible option.

If you have any diabetics in your family who can't resist chocolates, you can maintain their health by making chocolates for them that are not going to harm them. Chocolates can cause chaos with their blood sugar levels. There are already chocolates available for diabetics but they're quite expensive and generally don't taste as good. So if you are a mother or teenager who wants to surprise your diabetic loved ones, make homemade chocolates that can help control their sugar levels and taste as good as normal chocolates.

Chocolate making at home is fun and exciting! It's a pastime or business you can do on your own or with help from friends and family. You can have a good time with your kids while showering your chocolates with different toppings. You can give these chocolates as gifts for every occasion that you can think of, and a gift of homemade chocolates given with love is one that will be hard to beat.

Janine Rose Lumanag lives in the Philippines. Janine has a unique talent for research and physical investigation, which results in articles that offer her readers a very honest, entertaining and personal view of the subject. Her love of candy and how to make it has always been a passion of hers, and she is currently writing a series of articles on this topic. If you want to learn more about chocolate making at home, visit our website at http://www.bestcandymakingsecrets.com/ for helpful tips and information about all aspects of candy making.

Original article

Making The Most Of Chocolate's Health Benefits

Chocolate is being touted as one of the modern super foods, and it is true that flavonoid compounds present on dark chocolate are powerful antioxidants and highly beneficial. But on the other hand, chocolate is also heavy on fats and energy, so it's not a great idea to eat too much of it.

Chocolate, specially dark chocolate, has 8 times more antioxidants than healthy super foods such as strawberries, and those antioxidants play a key role protecting the body from free radicals, widely accepted to be one of the main causes of skin and tissue ageing. The flavonoids present in dark chocolate also help the body regulate high blood pressure by producing nitric oxide, and are said to help balance the hormonal system as well.

Chocolate also helps balance your mood, as it contains serotonin which is a natural anti-depressant, and it tastes good so that alone helps already. So incorporating moderate amounts of dark chocolate into your diet is beneficial for your health without any doubt.

However, this doesn't mean you should make chocolate the centre of every other meal, as you need to take into account that chocolate is also rich in fats and calories. Most chocolates also come with plenty of milk, sugar and caramel in the form of nougats and fillings, so that increases the calories and reduces the nutritional value. So if you want to make the most of chocolate, take the following into account:

Keep An Eye On The Calories

Chocolate is healthy, but it's also highly caloric and the diet varieties often lose a lot of the benefits along with the fat. So if you want to eat chocolate, remember to check what else are you eating to keep your calorie intake balanced.

Choose Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is richer in antioxidants and have a stronger taste, which means you'll feel satisfied with less. This makes it much more healthy than the more milky alternatives, or those with nuts and caramel nougat or other fillings.

Enjoy Each Bite

Learning to savour chocolate and enjoy each bite means you'll eat less and enjoy it more. This way you can enjoy the health benefits of eating chocolate, without gaining weight or ingesting unhealthy amounts of sugar.

Cook Your Own Chocolate Dishes

Instead of buying industrial chocolate snacks and cakes that are often overflowing with refined sugars and other not so healthy chemicals, you could instead follow some chocolate recipes and make your own desserts, making sure you use high quality chocolate and natural ingredients for best results.

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