How'd You Do That?: HOT CHOCOLATTE BLOCKS

This is a pretty easy little project with a delicious end product that may be used for gifts, at parties at tailgates, etc. These are blocks of chocolate that just need a little cup of hot milk to become delicious cups of (as we used to say when my grown boys were little) hot chocolatte!

The part of this that I think is really fun is to personalize some

wooden spoons. I chose two different fonts, one a little more playful that would be cute for kids and one a little more elegant. Chose any font you like, any color, etc. Only limited by your imagination! Decide what you want your spoon to say and print on a clear 8 1/2 x 11 label, cut out the labels and adhere to the spoon.

You don't need many ingredients for these, just (5) items. One thing that I did not put in the photo (oops) is that once again I used my pan with the removable bottom and once again it made this so easy. I will post a resource at the end.

In the photo showing ingredients I showed unsweetened chocolate for the dusting but after some overnight thought I decided that since the ingredients for these blocks were unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate that I did not want to add more unsweetened chocolate so I used some sweet chocolate. Just a personal preference.

After the chocolate firms overnight just cut a grid pattern of 6x6 across the chocolate to get the yield of 36 pieces. I then inserted a lollipop stick or one of my spoons, inserted into small plastic bag (you absolutely could use some plastic wrap) tied with a festive ribbon and you are done.

These are cute for a gift (teacher, etc.) put two or three in a mug (you might want to insert the recipe), tie with cellophane and a ribbon, add a tag and you have a cute gift. If you are serving these at home you don't have to put them in the bag, just insert the spoon or the lollipop stick and set them out on a buffet, etc. I think these would be fun at a tailgate party - you could put your team name (using team color of course) and something like "Go Dogs!" or "Go Pokes" on the spoon and all you would need is an airpot full of hot milk and you have delicious cups of hot chocolate in a unique form. Fun to take on any winter outing.

Recipe:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped - ok to use chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bars

3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate

Wooden sticks, lollipop sticks or wooden spoons

Directions:

1) Line an 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

I used my removable bottom pan and sprayed with Pam

2) Heat the cream and condensed milk over low heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate; allow it to gently melt.

3) After about 10 minutes, return the chocolate mixture to low heat to completely melt the chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and shiny. Add a few drops of flavoring oil if you like; hazelnut, coffee, or vanilla are popular flavors.

I used some vanilla bean paste, again personal preference

4) Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan; shake the pan gently to level. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Set aside overnight to slowly set up.

Cooks Note: Don't put in fridge, seemed like a good idea but it gets TOO hard, just set on the counter overnight to become firm.

5) Run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a clean cutting surface.

6) Slice into 1 ¼" cubes. Heat a knife in hot water and wipe dry before each cut, for smoothest cuts.

I did not find this to be necessary might have been that because I put in the fridge it was so cold but I just cut the little blocks and then slid a knife under each block to release, no problem.

7) Stick a wooden stick into the center of each block.

Or a lollipop stick or wooden spoon.

8) Roll in cocoa or crushed peppermint candy, if desired.

9) Wrap in waxed paper, parchment, or plastic wrap to store.

Yield: about 3 dozen blocks.

COOKS NOTE: AFTER MAKING THESE I HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY TASTE WONDERFUL. HOWEVER I DO NOT FEEL THAT EVEN TWO BLOCKS MAKES A RICH CUP OF HOT CHOCOLATE SO WHEN I GIVE THESE I AM SAYING THAT THEY CAN EITHER BE A REALLY RICH, CHOCOLATE FUDGE BITE ON A SPOON OR BETTER YET ADD THEM TO SOME RUN-OF-THE-MILL GROCERY STORE HOT CHOCOLATE MIX TO TURN IT INTO SPECTACULAR HOT CHOCOLATE OR ADD THEM TO A COFFEE DRINK.

Resource

Link for removable bottom pan, Fat Daddio's Anodized Aluminum Square Cheesecake Pan with Removable Bottom, 8 Inch x 8 Inch x 2 Inch