Chocolate dipped spoons?

[sweet maxine]

I've got to make some of these for a Valentine's treat for the youth group, and I really don't know much about these things. Do I just use almond bark to dip them in? Are they used for hot chocolate or coffee? Does the chocolate melt into the drink, or does it get gooey? Sorry for so many questions, but I just need help!
Thanks!

 

[piratesmate]

When we've done them we've used the chocolate melting caps. The chocolate doesn't really dissolve, it just melts into your drink & you have to keep stirring it up. That has happened with ones DH received purchased from various stores as well.

DS likes them in hot chocolate and coffee.

BTW - DH just told me to tell you that he always hated the ones with gummi bears stuck in the bowl of the spoon or jimmies sprinkled on....basically any decorations as they just sit in the bottom of the cup. There's an exception to that, though. He forgot that I sometimes will "decorate" with white chocolate drizzled on dark or dark on white...just something to make it look a bit fancy.

 

[pattyT]

LOL- I agree with the NO extra candy on them but drizzle is ok!

I quess it depends HOW HOT your drink is -
They don't melt well in y sons hot chocolate (which he hates too hot) but in my coffee - no prob!
Almond bark will work fine!

 

[sweet maxine]

Good morning!

Thanks for letting me know about decorating the spoons with candy. I was thinking about how cute they would look if I sprinkled them with red/white sprinkles. I was worried that everything would just become a gooey mess though once everything was melted in the cup! I do like the idea of drizzling with a contrasting color.

I'm misinformed though about the whole thing. The youth at our church are doing this as part of a fundraiser, so I guess the spoons would be for all ages. I think they have decided to package a spoon with a small bag of cookies together, so people can have an inexpensive "happy" to give out for Valentine's day. The catch for me is, there are some requests for orders to be picked up before the weekend, and guess who has to make the spoons and cookies?!? Me! I thought the kids were doing all of this on Saturday, but now it looks like I'm going to be busy with this for the next couple of days.

I don't think I can find the melting caps here. I'll check Wal Mart, but it's a smaller store. If not I'll go with the almond bark idea....without the gummi bears! LOL!!! Thanks for helping me!

 

[piratesmate]

.....

I don't think I can find the melting caps here. I'll check Wal Mart, but it's a smaller store. If not I'll go with the almond bark idea....without the gummi bears! LOL!!! Thanks for helping me!

Around here we can get them at grocery stores (usually in the bulk food aisle), craft stores (like Michaels/AC Moore - esp around Christmas & Valentine's Day), and at Wal-Mart. Some of the specialty stores & caterers also have them, but they're much more expensive!

BTW - Our Wal-Mart is small - not a Super Wal-Mart and they carry them around holidays, but like most things they don't carry them all year long, so they run out.

I'd think you could use chocolate chips also as you can use them to make candy. For us it's just cheaper to use the caps. My only thought about the almond bark is that you're stuck with the nuts on the spoons.

 

[stauncie]

...........
I'd think you could use chocolate chips also as you can use them to make candy. For us it's just cheaper to use the caps. My only thought about the almond bark is that you're stuck with the nuts on the spoons.

Not sure about the '''stuck with the nuts on the spoons''' quote, but,.... if you can't find the melting chocolate 'caps' almond bark works fine.
Since its almost Valentines, you should have no problem finding the melting chocolate in most department and/or craft stores.

DO NOT use chocolate chips. They won't work. Chocolate chips are not 'tempered', and will not fully 'set' when the chocolate cools.

For a change of flavor, you can add some flavored oils. Wilton sells some whereever you find other Wilton products. Another popular brand is Lorran Oils. If you can't find them at your local craft/grocery store, you can find them at most pharmacies.

Be sure to use OIL and not just flavoring. Oil will 'mix' with the melted chocolate, but flavoring will just seize the chocolate and make it harden.

Use 6-7 drops of oil for each pound of chocolate.
Rasberry and Hazelnut are very poular, as well as a 'mint'.

 

[piratesmate]

Not sure about the '''stuck with the nuts on the spoons''' quote, but,.... if you can't find the melting chocolate 'caps' almond bark works fine......

DO NOT use chocolate chips. They won't work. Chocolate chips are not 'tempered', and will not fully 'set' when the chocolate cools......

Thanks for correcting me on the choc. chips! I just know that we use them when we make peanutbutter balls. They're dipped in chocolate & the recipe calls for chocolate chips. Since they get hard, I would have thought they'd work for this, too.

As for the "stuck with the nuts"....What we call "almond bark" is usually white chocolate with chopped almonds mixed in. Sort of like peanut brittle using chocolate. I was imagining all those almond pieces floating in the melted chocolate what would either need to be "fished out" or end up set in the chocolate on the spoon. Is there another product called almond bark that I don't know about?

 

[sweet maxine]

Just got back from Wal Mart and the had the Wilton Candy Melts. I'm doing pretty good to find those I guess, as there's just not any other stores around here that aren't at least an hour or so drive away. I wish I lived closer to a Michael's or some other craft store, but I just have to suffice with what I can get here. I am going to a basketball game this week out of town, and I'll check at Michael's there if I get a chance. I'm the one driving all the cheerleaders, so I may not have time to run by there.

Piratesmate, I think what I meant by almond bark is that stuff that comes in a big block that you can melt down to make coated pretzels or that sort of thing. I just didn't know about the dipped spoons, and how the almond bark might do when they're in a hot drink. I hope these turn out well, and maybe I'll have all the kinks worked out by Saturday. I'd love to find some raspberry or mint oil, and I'll see if I get the chance to make it to Michael's. Where I live, if Wal Mart or Big Lots doesn't have it.....you're just out of luck.

 

[piratesmate]

Oh! Thanks for clarifying that. I've never heard of or seen that around here!

I wondered why someone was melting down "almond bark" to coat pretzels when the question came up at Christmas.

 

[sweet maxine]

That's okay. Before I moved here, I'd never heard of catfish pate', but according to everyone around here, it's a delicacy. Wow! I thought it just came fried!

 

[sweet maxine]

I just wanted to post this morning that I did find the coating bars (or almond bark), and in three flavors---vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. I decided to try something with rice krispy treats, so I made a batch and cut out pieces with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, about 2 1/2 - 3" size. I then dipped one side of each treat into the coating (well, I kinda had to use a spoon to coat it). As soon as I put the coating on, I sprinkled colored sprinkles or jimmies. When they dried, I put each one in a Valentine's bag I bought from Dollar Tree (the clear plastic ones with hearts). They really turned out cute, and I hope they go over well for the kids fundraiser. I wasn't really supposed to make these for their sale, but I thought it might be a nice idea. Anyway, I think they look like something you might find in a bakery/gift shop. This would be a good idea for class parties or maybe teacher treats for Valentine's day.

 

[piratesmate]

I'm glad you were able to find something & it worked out for you! Those sound so cute!! I'm sure they'll go over well.

 

[RumpleMom]

Sorry I realize this is a little late, but bettycrocker.com has full instructions for making the chocolate spoons.

 

[lynxstch]

when I first saw this at walmart..I was under the impression that it was a block of chocolate with almonds in it..but after further investigation..it turned out to just be a block of chocolate..walmart carries it in white and chocolate at holiday time...but you can't find it anywhere here the rest of the year..we have a local fruit/veggie/candy store that you can buy the chocolate wafers that you melt..I have found these to work great when melting and dipping pretzels..or for making peppermint bark..or for making lollipops..here they have them in all colors..red, pink, orange, purple, dark green, light green, etc..so you can do it for just about any holiday...
also have to second the idea NOT to put jimmies or sprinkles on the spoons..which I did the first time I made them...not realizing that they would just sink to the bottom and melt in..lol!

 

[sweet maxine]

Thanks for all your help! I've enjoyed reading all the replies.

I ended up using the chocolate wafers I found at Wal Mart for the spoons, and then drizzled some of the strawberry almond bark over the top for the pink decoration. They turned out cute, and weren't as hard as I thought they might be to make.

I cannot find the colored wafers here, but I'll look the next time I'm out of town shopping.