Ring in the New Year
with
Champagne, Party Hats
and
Chocolate Favors!
Need a quick and festive chocolate treat for your New Year's Eve party?
Look no farther than your local candy & cake decoration supply shop.
Lucky for us, there's one close by.
Over the last 20 years, I have built up quite an impressive collection of candy molds that collectively tell the story of our daughters' activities and parties. Let's see, I remember the ballet slippers, Pooh Bear & honey pots, soccer balls, Ariel & Friends, stars, pianos, teacups, artist palettes, flowers, softballs & bats, not to mention the molds for holidays including Valentine's Day and Chanukah. I've even made tennis rackets for my tennis group.
So when our daughter wanted to create something festive for New Year's Eve, but didn't have a lot of time, she knew exactly what to do: chocolate lollipops! A quick stop at Kake Kreations (isn't that a darling name?) and 30 minutes later, she was busy in the kitchen. In case you've never made these, let me show you how easy it is.
Supplies
2-3 bags of 1 lb. bags of (milk, dark or white) chocolate candy wafers, 4" sticks, small cellophane bags, plastic squeeze bottle, and of course your candy mold of choice. Our daughter found one with a party hat, champagne bottle and martini glass!
You will also need a warming tray or griddle, kitchen towel, 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup or bowl, a mixing spoon and an empty shelf in your freezer!
Start by pouring about 1/2 lb. of wafers into a Pyrex bowl. Microwave for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds at 50% power and stir again. Repeat 2-3 times until the chocolate is melted, but not burnt!
Pour chocolate into squeeze bottle, and slowly fill molds. Do not overfill. Tap mold gently so chocolate spreads into the small corners of the molds. For those molds that require sticks, place stick into mold, turning stick slightly into chocolate.
Place mold into freezer for 8-10 minutes until firm.
While waiting, place both Pyrex bowl and squeeze bottle onto warming tray or griddle, on top of a clean kitchen towel. Be sure griddle is set at lowest warming temperature. This keeps chocolate melted and ready for next fill. Repeat as many times as you need, melting 1/2 lb. of chocolate at a time.
Gently turn mold upside down and pop out chocolate onto paper towel.
Place chocolate molds into individual cellophane bags.
Tie with festive curling ribbon.
You can also create tags with each guest's name or with "Happy New Year" and tie them to the stick as well. These can be used as table place cards. Or poke these into a Styrofoam block, covered with bright cellophane and use it as a centerpiece.
And here's a hint to getting the leftover chocolate out of the bottle: place in freezer for an hour. Then squeeze bottle, loosening chocolate from sides, and shake the small chocolate pieces out. Eat when no one is looking!
Have a safe, warm and enjoyable
New Year's Eve celebration!
Come party with me at:
