# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/41 "2006-12-01T03:26:37Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] What about turtles? What sort of nuts goes in them? I have peanuts, chopped walnuts, and slivered almonds. [/QUOTE] I’ve mostly seen them with pecan bits but the chopped walnuts should be okay. The slivered almonds would be more like a haystack. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/42 "2006-12-01T06:11:14Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] 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. [/QUOTE] I just learned how to make turtles a little while ago: - Pecan halves - Caramels (I use the small, individually wrapped ones) - Chocolate suitable for melting Arrange two or three pecan halves in a cluster and place a caramel on top. Arrange many such clusters on a plate. Microwave for about 30 seconds, until the caramels are softened (but not so melted they start to liquify), and squish the caramel into the pecans, welding the pecans together as it were. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave, and spoon over the clusters. Cool. Eat. I find that they cool quickly in the fridge, but if you store the turtles in the fridge they’re pretty crunchy when you eat them, and the chocolate and caramel cracks more and it’s messy. I let the turtles cool in the fridge, but then store them at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/43 "2006-12-01T06:50:20Z")
Hell, I should send this thread to my cousin’s wife-cooking is her hobby and every Christmas, she makes these amazing cookie trays for everyone in the family. She might even have a few recipes. Ever had divinity? Could that possibly be dipped in chocolate? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/44 "2006-12-01T11:09:01Z")
Divinity is based on a sugar syrup, so I’m not sure if it’s possible to dip it in chocolate, although I think I’ve seen it somewhere. What I’d do is pour chocolate over the divinity, starting with just a piece or two. **Ginger** back in 1997, _Cook’s Illustrated_ had a recipe for chocolate truffles I’ve sworn by ever since. It doesn’t require the precision timing and temperature control most candies do. The ingredients are chocolate, heavy cream, butter, corn syrup and some sort of liqueur for flavoring – I’ve had good results with Amaretto and Grand Marnier, although Baileys might be nice. They’re very soft and don’t necessarily travel well and they’re a little too rich for non-chocoholics, but people who love chocolate tend to love them. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the recipe. ---
**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, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/45 "2006-12-01T19:53:47Z")
Thanks to your suggestions, I now have 90 (frozen, undipped, waiting until closer to the date to dip them so they don’t go off) Oreo Truffles (Schwetty Balls!), 60 peppermint patties, two batches of almond English Toffee, one batch of plain English Toffee, and two bags of caramel yet to be dipped. Oh, and a batch of candy-cane bark. I’m going to dip pretzels as well, for sure, and perhaps even Oreos. I have Nutella cooling down so I can roll it into balls for fake hazelnut-chocolate truffles. When I dipped the peppermint patties, the chocolate was very thick. I had it set in a sort of _bain marie_ - glass bowl in an electric pan which I turned on periodically to maintain the heat. Should I be thinning it down? I’ve seen online where it says to add 1 tablespoon of shortening per 6 oz of chocolate, can someone offer experience there? ---
**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, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856/46 "2006-12-01T19:54:59Z")
I shall add here that I made the almond toffee in mini-muffin cups which I buttered. Easier to portion that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-made-chocolates/381856.md?page=2)