Christmas Chocolates

I haven't made chocolates in probably twenty five years. At that time I had a candy business with a good friend and neighbor that we called  Sweet Impressions.  We made custom candies for friends' and family wedding showers, baby showers, parties, etc. and then started selling our candies at craft fairs. I don't think we ever made a dime, but had great fun staying up half the night drinking wine and making what we thought were very creative chocolates.  Next I tried a venture selling candy-making supplies in people's homes - kind of like Tupperware parties.  I would teach everyone how to make their own chocolates and then I would try to sell them supplies - don't know what I was thinking, because anyone who knows me knows that I am the worst salesperson on earth!  I also sold nautical themed chocolates in the Ventura & Channel Islands Harbors.  Great fun at the time but I finally had to admit I was never going to get rich making chocolates and that it was time that I got a real (by that I mean paying) job.

I'm not sure what inspired me to make chocolates this Christmas, but it was fun and brought back lots of great memories. My first candy-making experience was learning how to make hand-dipped chocolates when I lived in Logan, Utah in the mid-seventies.  I wasn't quite that ambitious this year and used plastic molds.

One filling was made with bittersweet chocolate, cream, butter and mint extract and another with milk chocolate, cream, butter and Kahlua.   Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate in the plastic mold, chill in the freezer for a couple of minutes, add filling, top with more melted chocolate and chill until set. For the seashell  molds I swirled in a little white chocolate before adding the filling.

Wishing you a sweet holiday season!