Homemade Chocolates for Your Love!

That should say HEALTHIER, rather than healthy!

These chocolate candies and chocolate-covered peanut-butter cookies are super simple to make, and can be customized to your favorite flavor!  With Valentine's Day around the corner, this is an easy project to do with the kids...

Supplies

• 2 boxes Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate
• Essential Oil : mint or orange
• Double Boiler
• Candy Molds (leaves)
• Lego-shaped Candy Molds
• Child's Baking Set

Directions

• Put water in your main pot and turn on high.  Allow to boil.
• Place the double boiler inside the pot, and put the chocolate square in there.
• Give it a few minutes to begin melting.  Stir occasionally.
• Allow to melt completely, then put in drops of your essential oil, to flavor the chocolate.  Stir well.
• Carefully spoon the chocolate into the molds.  (This is a mom job.)
• Place onto a cookie sheet and put in the freezer to harden.
• After chocolate has cooled, pop out the candies!
• We store the chocolate in the fridge for a longer life.

My love of both chocolate and peanut butter combined comes directly through the maternal bloodline.  My grandmother created this recipe, and it was a staple of our winter candies.  Now that she is no longer around to make them, we've decided to try and 'clean up' the recipe a bit (click on ingredients to see our choices), leaving it a little bit healthier but every bit as tasty as the original!

Ingredients :

• Smooth peanut butter
• Baker's chocolate
• Ritz crackers
• Double boiler

Directions :

• Put chocolate squares into double boiler and melt them.
• Spread peanut butter onto crackers, and use a second cracker to make 'sandwiches.'
• Once chocolate is completely melted, place sandwiches into the bowl and cover completely in chocolate.
• Carefully remove from chocolate and let cool on wax paper.  (To speed cooling, you can put them in the freezer.)
• Slowly savor every bite!

Learn more cool simple-cooking tricks in the Homesteading Course at SchoolhouseTeachers!

This homeschool homesteading course is designed for anyone who has a desire to live more independently and prepare much of what is needed each day using their own hands. In this elective course, the student can learn how to work for what they want by making it themselves, instead of participating in an “on demand” society. Homeschool students of all ages learn patience, along with the skills needed to make their own cleaners for the home, sunscreen, homemade ketchup and dry mixes, as well as how to choose animals and prepare for emergencies, and much more. Learning the patience and usefulness of “doing it yourself” can be immensely helpful not only in the sense of living a healthier life, but also for the budget!