Sees Copycat Bordeaux Chocolates

Have you ever tried Sees Chocolates?  For those of you on the west coast that probably sounds like a dumb question but since moving to the Ohio Valley I have been shocked at how few people have even heard of Sees!  Thank goodness we now have one in Columbus so I can enjoy them anytime I want.....well almost anytime I want since it is a one hour drive to the mall.  But for those times I can't wait I've found a wonderful recipe from Love & Turquoise that produces a "close enough" chocolate.

I did tweak the recipe a little.  First I used Guittard chocolate because that is the brand Sees uses.  I also tempered my chocolate.  I have a tempering machine but you can do it the manual way if you like.  I also added a little more powdered sugar than her recipe called for because my centers were not thick enough.  Lastly I used real chocolate sprinkles-definitely not the kind you get at the grocery store!  I get mine from a online dutch company.   You can also get them from Amazon.  Once you taste these sprinkles you will never eat the American version again, I promise.  Oh, and I left out the coffee.  Mormon.

 So how did they taste?  At first I was a little disappointed (like right after they had set up).  The centers were just not quite creamy enough.  But this morning (don't judge me, it was in the name of quality control!) I ate one and it was sooooooo good.  Okay, so I had to eat another one to make sure I had a large enough control group.  

 Creamy and delicious!  Best Chocolate ever.  If fact it was so good I pack up most of them to give as gifts and sent them with my husband to deliver!   

We are having quests for dinner tonight so I held a few back to set at each place setting.  And there might be a few more tucked away in my secret place for myself.  Don't tell anyone okay?

Diana

Potholders and Cookies---They Go Together Right?

Here is a cute way to package a treat!

I made a potholder from some bright and cheerful fabrics.  Then I tucked a few homemade cookies inside.  I love cookies but I really love new and pretty kitchen items like potholders and towels.  The ones I use are so old and ugly and *gasp* store bought!  Maybe I can pull out some of the pretty ones I have made and then tucked away "for when company comes".  Life is too short to not have pretty thing around you everyday!

Diana

  

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Every year at Christmas time I can't wait for the Cordial Cherries to appear on the store shelves.  LOVE THEM

I think they taste so good because they are only available a few short months out of the year.  I have tried to make them before but I could never get the centers to liquefy.  Even after a couple of weeks thay sill were solid inside.  Delicious but solid.  I didn't give up and I finally learned the secret---invertase!

 But before we go there, what do you think of the cute little birdcage I packaged the chocolates in?

Adorable, right?

 OK back to the candy.....I found a great recipe here.   It listed invertase as an ingredient.  Wow, never heard of that before.  I googled it and found out it was what made the centers turn to liquid, was available on line and best of all was cheap.

 So a few clicks and two days later I had the invertase enzyme in my hot little hands and was ready to go.

The recipe was easy, and a lot of fun to make.  I have checked the candy every day and by the second day I had significant liquid.  Did I mention how I tested them.  You better believe I ate them!  I mean, I had to, right?  So now I can have these yummy treat all year long.  Yippee!

Diana

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

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

Homemade Truffles....and Chocolate Covered Strawberries!!!

 Little Miss Abby and I spent the day together on Saturday making some delicious chocolates.

 We decided to make REAL truffles for the first time ever and we think they came out pretty lovely.

 We even made the boxes we packaged them in!  Love my Silhouette!

 The recipe we used can be found at Chocoley and it is also where I buy all my supplies.  Their chocolate is so easy to work with and they have great sales and offers regularly.  Plus they have free online classes and tons of recipes for wonderful candies.  We made one batch of the basic truffle recipe and divided it into four bowls so we could have four different flavors.  The truffles with the white chocolate stripe are flavored with peppermint oil,  The truffles with pink sprinkles are raspberry, and then we also made both lemon and hot chili truffles (yellow and red sprinkles!)  Important note: you must use special flavored oils made for chocolate.  Regular candy flavors will cause the chocolate to seize up and ruin your truffles.  the same goes for coloring chocolate---special coloring oils only!

So how did we like the recipe?

Not only did we enjoy making these truffles but we also learned a few tricks along the way.  First of all, the recipe stated that the truffle mixture had to set up in the fridge for 3 hours or in the freezer for 1 1/2 hour to firm up before you could shape it into small balls.  Way too long.  We choose the freezer method and it was sooo hard we had to leave the bowls on the counter for about 1/2 an hour to soften so we could scoop it out.  Another thing, each flavoring oil has different intensity so be careful not to add too much.  The mint and the chili were very strong!  But the lemon and raspberry were much less intense.  Go figure...... 

 Here is Abby putting finishing touches on her boxes.

 We had leftover chocolate so we dipped some strawberries.  Waste not, want not!

 Abby did all the decorating!

I'd say this was a pretty wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Diana

The Pot of Gold.......

As a child I was just a wee bit superstitious.  Always looking for 4 leaf clovers and wishing on stars......that's why this project really appealed to me.  The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

I made it with my silhouette and stuffed them full of chocolate coins.  But not the icky ones from the drugstore.  No these came from Sees Candies.  Delicious!

 Diana

Quick Valentines

Need some last minute Valentines that print up quick?  These are good for boys or girls and even have a bit of chocolate to please every little kid.  I copied this idea from Under A Cherry Tree but simplified it into a print and cut project.  You have to check hers out for a WOW moment.  You could make these with any robot clip art.  I used the pdf file that is included in the file I purchase from her store so I wouldn't have to do layers.  I then used the print and cut feature on my silhouette but you could just print them out with your printer and hand cut them out.  Either way they are super cute and quick.  Diana

Be a Little Silly

As a treat for our Primary teachers, I made these fun little goodies to remind them to have fun with the children they teach!

I got the bottles at a local craft store and made sweet little pinwheels with paper and straight pins.  Inside each bottle are Nerds.  I tried to fit in mini M&Ms but they couldn't fit down the neck of the bottle!.  The quilt top used as a backdrop?  I'll be posting that later this month!
Diana

Christmas Handout

Just thought I would show a couple of small gift ideas that are great for children (think church or school).  This first one is a printable download from Laurie Furnell and it is free!  Instead of a knitted hat I did ear mufsf using pipe cleaners and pom poms.  We actually made kits for the kids at church to put these together for themselves!

Below is another handout I made for children at another church group.  Because I wanted these children to receive something more spiritual, I machine embroidered candy cane holders.  Each one took 15 minutes to make so be sure you give yourself enough time.  Since I made 28 it took 7 hours, but I broke it up over several days.  The download for this project was Embroidery Garden's Yahoo group and is free too! 

Both handouts went over very well but then who doesn't like the gift of candy!!!!

Diana

Primary Children's Father's Day Craft

It is so hard to find a craft that ages 3 to 11 year olds can do for Father's Day.  I hope this one will work out OK.It is a simple matchbook design that wraps around a blow pop.  The dimensions are 2 inches by 6 inches.  Score at 1/2 inch, 2   3/4 inch. and 3  3/4 inch.  Punch a hole in the one inch center section.  The bear is from Doodlecharms by Cricut.

Here is a side view.  The face is drawn by hand and will be so cute when the kids do it!  Diana

Sweets For Dad

This year's Father's Day candy bar for the guys at our church are done!  I used Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge to make the funny little squirrel.These are passed out to all the men over 18 years and always are a big hit.  I do 50 and my friend does 50.  Can't wait to see what she has done!  Diana

Candy Bar Wrapper

Do you really NEED to wrap a candy bar.......no.......chocolate, in and of itself , needs no decoration.  I mean, who doesn't get excited to see a giant chocolate bar?  And those of you who don't get all giddy when around chocolate are just a little strange.  And to be pitied.  Just saying.......

.......But as long as there is paper and glue and pretty ribbon I WILL cover any and everything that leaves this house as an expression of my creativity.......and lots of free time......and nothing good on TV.......... 

And this was so easy....didn't even turn on the cricut.  Diana

Crispy Snowmen

Once again my husband is subbing in our church's children's class (primary valiant 8-9) and as a matter of survival, he needs an awesome treat.  Something that will wow them and keep them in line long enough to get through a lesson.  I know, we shouldn't bribe them but let goodness be it's own reward, blah, blah blah, but when you are a substitute teacher you do what you got to do. He will set these guys on the table through the whole lesson.....no explanation, but those kids aren't dumb.  They will quickly figure out that they will only get one at the end IF they are good!

Rice crispy squares stuck on a stick and dipped in white chocolate.  I made a mold for the top hats and used dark chocolate so the hats would be nice and close to black.

Candy eyes, orange tic tac noses and dark chocolate piped mouths.  Then I used fruit rolls to make the scarves.  These snowmen are huge and sure to give the kids a big rush of sugar.....after they leave church.  Diana

Candy Corn Test Tubes

What to do with a handful of test tubes at Halloween....

Fill them with candy corn colored M&Ms of course.

And a spooky face on the top to seal the candy in.

Scary but delicious!Diana

Hidden Treats

Another little craft for Halloween!  This one is done on my embroidery machine but you could do them without one.  The design download is available from Embroidery Garden. The set includes 7 designs for fall and costs $10.00.  Made with felt, these little cuties have a little secret.....

Tucked in a little pocket on their reverse side is a Hershey Nugget....sweet.

The chocolate in the pocket is a nice snug fit!  No fear of it slipping out.

I have them in a small drawer in the foyer so they are ready to give to guests!  With treats like this I shouldn't get any tricks this Halloween!  Diana