I love melting extra chocolate into my hot coco, so occasionally I’ll splurge on the sugar and make chocolate spoons.  Not only can you add them to hot coco but coffee as well.  Plus you can get innovative with flavored chocolates, drizzled designs, and pretty packaging.  They’re great for gifts & parties, and they’re inexpensive to make compared to store-bought ones.

So, here’s how you make them…

Supplies

parchment paper or waxed paper

spoons, I like clear plastic ones, but you can also use your regular silverware as well

chocolate for melting, any flavor

a glass container for microwaving the chocolate

mixing spoon

microwave

optional: individual wrapping plastics for each spoon, a ribbon or tie for each plastic, extra chocolate in a different color for drizzling, other packaging or tags to denote the chocolate spoon flavors.

Instructions

1.  Place some chocolate in the glass bowl.  Microwave it for 30 seconds at 50% power.  Mix chocolate.  Repeat until the chocolate is melted & no hard pieces remain.  I microwaved my chocolate 5 sets of 30 seconds for this batch.  Each microwave & amount of chocolate will vary the melting time.  Don’t be tempted to cheat at these instructions because your chocolate can quickly burn.

A variation on the microwave melting method is to use a double boiler or chocolate melting pot.

2.  Next, dip your spoon in the chocolate.  Make sure to get good coverage on the front & back, but avoid drips & smudges up the handle.  Raise the spoon above the bowl & allow excess chocolate to drip off the bottom.  You want the top of the spoon to be full but the back of the spoon to just be covered (too much will cause the back to be overly bulky).

3.  Lay the spoons on the parchment or waxed paper to allow them to harden.  Optional: you may drizzle a different color of chocolate on the spoons.  To do this, melt the chocolate, and use a bag with the tip cut off or simply another spoon, and drip the warm chocolate in pretty lines back and forth across the spoons.  You can also get a little crazy with different shapes and even sprinkles.

*I prefer allowing chocolates to harden at room temperature; these spoons took about an hour.  Some people suggest hardening them quicker in the freezer.  I do this when I’m making molded chocolates, and I need to use the mold again quickly.  The problem with the freezer method is the chocolates must return to room temperature before storing them in individual bags, otherwise condensation occurs in the bag.  But, if you’re keeping the chocolates in the freezer until the day of the party, freezing them might work great for you…just freeze them separately, then store them in an airtight container, and before serving, give them a couple hours to thaw and keep them separated while thawing.

4.  When the chocolates are hardened and at room temperature, you may want to individually wrap them in cellophane bags tied with a ribbon.  You can label the chocolates according to the flavors and put them in in a basket, box, or cup for a gift.  You may otherwise want to serve them without the bags and display them on a pretty plate or cup.