Monday, March 30, 2015

Easter Candy Wraps

Oh what to get my kids at church for Easter........chocolate of course!
I started with Hershey solid chocolate bunnies that come six in a package. 
 Once they were wrapped in some cute spring floral paper I attached a label I downloaded from the Silhouette store.
Another quick and easy treat for Easter!
Diana

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Easy Push Up Easter Treats

 I needed a treat to take to church for Easter that was quick and easy, and did I mention it had to be yummy too!  I didn't want to bake cookies, cupcakes or make chocolate candies either.  Call me lazy but I had a lesson to prepare and a few other things to get done, so I didn't have a ton of time to devote to this.
 Thank goodness I had hoarded stocked up on push up containers......
 I used my Silhouette to cut out labels......



 Edible grass......
 Cadsbury eggs....
I mean who doesn't like chocolates?
Diana

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Baby Chicks Are Here

Baby chicks are at Tractor Supply so can Spring be far away?

 Eight new girls to add to our flock......well, at least I hope they are all girls.

 The tiny white fluff ball is my favorite!
Diana

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Old Fashion Ice Cube Chocolates' Recipe

Do you remember Ice Cubes?  They were delicious!  So creamy.....and they melted in your mouth as soon as you put them on your tongue (and on your fingers if you handled them too much!).  I recently found them at a candy store in California while visiting my son's family and I have been obsessing about them ever since.  So I did some Internet research to find out what to add to the chocolate to get it to that wonderful "melt in your mouth" condition.
I found out that the secret ingredient was probably coconut oil.  It has a low melting point, 97–104 °F, which allows it to melt very quickly when it is put in your mouth.  But what ratio of chocolate to coconut oil?  I then found this recipe for homemade Hard Shell.  You know that cool chocolate stuff that goes on the ice cream in liquid form and then magically becomes a hard lovely shell.  Could this work in reverse?  Maybe if I tweaked it a little.
 So this is what you need......2 parts good chocolate to one part coconut oil.  (I used 2 ounces chocolate and 1 ounce coconut oil).  
  Melt the chocolate and coconut oil over a pot of steaming (not boiling) hot water.....remember not to get any steam or water in the chocolate or disaster will follow!  Stir constantly and remove from heat when chocolate is almost melted.  Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted.
 I poured the liquid chocolate into this cute tiny pitcher!  The chocolate will seem very thin but don't worry, that is how you want it.
 Carefully pour chocolate into molds that are about one inch in diameter.  Let set in freezer until very firm.
 Pop chocolates out of molds onto wax paper.  They should come out easily.  If they don't, put them back into the freezer and try again.
This mold makes the classic shape of the candy....well. almost. 
 Handling as little as possible, (the warmth from your hands will quickly melt the candies) wrap them in some pretty foil
 Soooo, the big question is how these homemade ice cubes measure up to the real thing.  
1. They melt beautifully once you put one on your tongue..yippee!
2. The flavor is delicious using the dark chocolate but I think milk chocolate would be closer to the original.  But can you imagine if you added a little mint oil to the dark chocolate version?  Kill me now cuz I'm in heaven!
So my verdict is that these are so close to the store bought ones I don't notice a difference, except these have a more intense chocolate flavor.  Next time I'll give milk chocolate a try.....
Diana

Monday, March 2, 2015

Cutest Baby Jammies Ever!

I just wanted to share a link to the cutest Baby PJ's I have ever seen!  And the best part......SpoolsAndDrools makes them from fabric I designed on Spoonflower!
You must check them out at her Etsy Shop especially if you love all things Harry Potter.  They are simply adorable.
Diana