Thankful for... Chocolate!

As if chocolate isn't on anyone's thankful list.. sigh.. she is a vixen who calls my name daily.  I don't let her tempt me though.  I just give in.  Life is too short. C'est la vie.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I adore making and giving out little tokens of my love and if I give you chocolate, well... by all means.. this is a declaration in itself.

With that said, I promised I'd share the world's easiest to make chocolate box mold instructions and here they are.

First you will need to start with an easy to use molding chocolate and fun mold.  My favorite molding chocolate is Wilton.  In my opinion, this isn't the world's best tasting chocolate, but this isn't something to worry about.  One could certainly use an excellent chocolate and melt in paraffin, but I can't see the point.  I just put the great chocolate inside!

Next you'll need a cute mold.  My favorite mold is this turkey.  I adore the Christmas Tree boxes and Sunflower boxes as well, but this is Thanksgiving so forgive my rambling..  A great place to buy these molds is through The Chocolate Belles.

I personally think the easiest way to melt the chocolate without burning it is in the microwave.  It takes about 1/2 bag per molded box.  Just follow the directions on the candy bag for melting.

Once the chocolate is nice and liquified, you are ready to pour it into the molds.  I've found the easiest way to fill the molds is from a small pouring bowl.  *You don't want to overfill the mold because it will make edges that will need to be trimmed and you don't want to under fill because it will come out then and most likely break as you pop it out. Next, hold both sides of the mold and tap it lightly on the table.  When there are no longer air bubbles rising from the chocolate, you'll know it's ready for the refrigerator.  I've tried letting the chocolate set at room temperature, but I find that it doesn't look as shiny and beautiful as the refrigerated version.
 

Let the chocolate sit in the mold in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour before attempting to free from it's mold.  The longer you let it sit, the easier it will be to free.  If you use can use the freezer, even better.  It will come out shinier and easier!

When you take the mold out, turn it upside down and gently tap it on your work surface.  Typically, that's all you'll need to do but occasionally you may need to put a finger on the back of the mold and give it a firm push.

                                                                      Voila!

Now you are ready to fill them with whatever your heart desires.  Mine always desires more chocolate, but this is purely chef's choice!

The boxes are adorable and big enough to fit all kinds of trinkets. To give you an idea of the size, 1/3 cup of plain m & m's will fill one to the top. 

Last but not least, I like to wrap and tie a note or place card to each one.  For easy to use Thanksgiving place cards or notes, I always use the free templates available on Martha Stewart's website. There is nothing I like more than saving a little time for something already cleverly designed!

 I wish you huge success!  Happy chocolate making my friends!