# Have you ever made chocolates? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856 "2006-11-26T18:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/21 "2006-11-27T01:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=toadbriar] Think ahead of time - like now - if you need to buy gift boxes or those little frilly paper or foil cups, because they will be sold out closer to Christmas. [/QUOTE] This is true. If you aren’t near a baking/candy supply shop, Michael’s carries some of these items–but they are a bit pricey. I buy my supplies from [Sweet Celebrations](http://www.sweetc.com/) (formerly Maid of Scandinavia); their webpage is useless, but ask for the catalog and you’ll have hours of drooly fun to look forward to. They deliver pretty quickly, too. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/22 "2006-11-27T02:51:35Z")
My grocery store has tons of them, but they’re all red with Santa on them. I’ll head to Michael’s or the cake decorating store tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/23 "2006-11-27T03:20:05Z")
I’ve had excellent sucess finding tin boxes for candy giving at the local dollar stores, for a fraction of what you’d pay at a craft store. Line with wax paper or parchment and voila! ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/24 "2006-11-27T14:33:19Z")
Good tip, Miss Again. My sister is watching this thread and drooling. She drools anyway. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/25 "2006-11-27T15:41:15Z")
My mother’s not going to be happy when I go home for Winter break and take over her kitchen to make candy. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/26 "2006-11-27T15:58:34Z")
Monica, can you use any liquer? I have some Bailey’s that wants to be used. I also have triple sec and a raspberry thing I can use. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/27 "2006-11-27T17:41:00Z")
[QUOTE=StuffLikeThatThere] Mix Oreo crumbs with cream cheese. Mix VERY well. This will have a thick consistency and look (sorry) like a cow pie. [/QUOTE] I’ve never met a cow pie that looked like this stuff. It looks more like squashed caviar. Tastes much better, though. 🙂 It’s in the fridge stiffening up a bit before I roll it into balls. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/28 "2006-11-27T21:00:40Z")
Right after I posted that, I rolled the centres into 45 little balls and set them to freeze. Then I made English Toffee (Thank you Hello Again) and monica’s little ganachey things with black raspberry liqueur. I won’t use chocolate chips for the next batch of them because I just don’t like the way they tase. I am going to attempt to make a batch of Bailey’s Irish Cream ganachey things next. Then, candy cane bark. I believe I’ll also make a batch of Almond English Toffee. I’ll likely dip tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/29 "2006-11-28T01:28:49Z")
Well, the Baileys had curdled. I didn’t know it could do that. So, I made a batch of Macadamia Nut ganachey things, a batch of candy cane bark and another batch of Oreo truffley things. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/30 "2006-11-28T14:26:53Z")
The English Toffee and Oreo truffle look interesting. Can you freeze the truffles, or would they go all weird? I don’t see cream cheese-filled chocolate staying good until Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/31 "2006-11-28T14:53:26Z")
I’ve never frozen the Oreo truffles – I think the filling would be fine, but the chocolate coating would be all weird and spotty-looking. I have, however, chilled them in the fridge for more than two weeks (sealed Tupperware container, of course) and they were fine. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/32 "2006-11-28T18:21:23Z")
I once made chocolate macaroons for a pitch-in. They were delicious in a better-than-Mounds way, but I ended up taking most of them home. Why? Because they looked like wads of used chewing tobacco. Oy. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/33 "2006-11-29T02:41:19Z")
Since I’m a giant dumbass (and was rushed), I didn’t cook my almond English Toffee enough and so it didn’t set. I dropped it back into the pot and re-cooked it. It worked, although the extra fat from the almonds needed to be drained off. It’s really, REALLY good, although it tastes a little like Burnt Almond (a chocolate bar in Canada). Which is tasty, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/34 "2006-11-29T03:04:09Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Monica, can you use any liquer? I have some Bailey’s that wants to be used. I also have triple sec and a raspberry thing I can use. [/QUOTE] We’ve always used either blackberry or raspberry (the recipe calls for raspberry), but I’m sure you could substitute. I think they’d be best with some kind of fruit liqueur, though. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/35 "2006-11-29T04:41:42Z")
I picked up some non-curdled Bailey’s this evening so I’m going to try a batch of hat tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/36 "2006-11-29T17:07:18Z")
Well, strangely, the cream in the first batch of ganachey things is sort of bleeding out. Bizarre. What about turtles? What sort of nuts goes in them? I have peanuts, chopped walnuts, and slivered almonds. I have to get to Trader Joe’s for some decent dipping chocolate yet, so I can pick up whatever is needed. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/37 "2006-11-29T17:08:56Z")
“Nuts goes”. I’m going to have the grammar po-pos after me. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/38 "2006-11-30T23:45:55Z")
FYI: Baileys is AWESOME in this. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips for it. It’s smooth and wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/39 "2006-12-01T00:20:06Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Well, strangely, the cream in the first batch of ganachey things is sort of bleeding out. Bizarre. [/QUOTE] The cream might not have been fresh enough if it did that. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/40 "2006-12-01T02:47:52Z")
I never thought of that as a reason, you could be right. I didn’t check the expiry date, just grabbed the first one off the shelf (my store is anal about removing expired things PDQ). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856.md?page=3)