Tuesday, December 18, 2012

12 Days of Christmas Treats: Hand Dipped Chocolates







     This is it!  Day 12!  Thank you so much for visiting!  Our final treat this year is my Mom's famous Hand Dipped Chocolate.  This is the recipe that everybody wanted and nobody got.  And you, my friends, are getting it.  It took us so long to find it after Mom passed, I don't want to take a chance that this recipe might disappear ever.  So make them and think of somebody you love when you eat them.  I know I always do.




 Mom's Hand-Dipped Christmas Chocolates
Yield:about 4 dozen
Filling:
1 lb confectioner's sugar
1/2 lb butter
Cream together.  Divide into 4 bowls. (2 ice cream scoops in each bowl with an extra 1/2 scoop for each mint bowl)
  • for chocolate: abt 1 tsp Dutch processed cocoa
  • for mint: 1/4 tsp. mint flavoring. Each got 6-8 drops food coloring.
  • for vanilla: 1 to 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Roll into balls and refrigerate 10 minutes.


Coating:
2 (12 oz) packages of chocolate chips
1/3 block of paraffin wax (you can usually find it near the canning stuff in the grocery store)

Melt chocolate chips and paraffin in a double boiler.  Put toothpicks into balls.


Dip the balls in melted chocolate.  Cool on tin foil or wax paper.  Remove toothpicks and dip any uncovered tops in chocolate or fill a spoon with chocolate and top them off.


These store well in the fridge for weeks in a tightly closed container.

Notes:
Make sure when you buy mint, you buy peppermint and not spearmint which is just wrong and should never be consumed by anyone ever for any reason, m'kay?


If you're creeped out by the paraffin, try it without and see what happens.  No, seriously, I don't know what happens.  I suspect they will be just fine.  I think the paraffin makes it a little shinier and a little firmer.  I was considering trying bees wax one time to see what that does.  But since this is Mom's recipe, this is what I wanted you to have!

I tried natural food coloring in these, but the red tasted like beets and let's just say beets and mint isn't going to be the new taste sensation this year.  Also, I haven't found a suitable natural green.  You could, of course, leave it out all together...


Reviews:
These are a little fiddly but totally worth it.  Another great one to do with the kids.

~*~
I'd also like to thank one Miss Cara Reed at Fork and Beans for following along as fast as her little legs could carry her on this crazy jaunt!  If you haven't already, be sure to check out her Gingerbread Ninjas, Cranberry Cheese Crumble, Fudge, Date Roll Ups, and Chocolate chip cookies, all made vegan and gluten-free! 
~*~ 

8 comments:

  1. These are my favorite pictures. I have been anticipating making these in the past month :) I wish that I was able to do all 12 days with you but I am happy that I got almost half in...thank you again for asking me to join--I'm always honored. And next year I will be better at planning ahead :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should still make them lady, blog or not! Thank you so much for all the recipes you made, you had a very good excuse! Next year, I'll try to get my act together a little earlier, too! How's August sound? =)

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  2. Grand finale looks delicious! Love this 12 days of Christmas ladies!

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  3. Look at your sweet chocolate making boys! And I'm with you on using only peppermint...spearmint is just plain blech.

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    Replies
    1. It's wrong. We should start a letter writing campaign.

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  4. I made these today with my kids - they turned out great! We just used the chocolate dipping wafers as the outside. Thanks for sharing the great recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out! I am so glad your family liked them and it's good to hear that chocolate wafers worked well!

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