How to Create a Milk Chocolate Christmas Holiday House

1- House Mold

1- Medium Pot

1- Medium Stainless Steel Bowl

1- Cup of Water

1- Long Handled Spoon

4- Cups of Milk Chocolate Chips

4- Tablespoons of Vegetable Shortening

Waxed or Parchment Paper

Cookie Sheet or Flat Cardboard Surface

Cook Top

Refrigerator

Chocolate molds can be found in most candy making isles of craft and party stores. There are many different types of molds to choose from. Almost every holiday or special occasion has a mold and there are even molds for everyday use.

Most candy making tutorials will instruct you to use candy melts, but I never enjoyed the flavor of these so I use real chocolate chips. However, if you prefer to have your candy to be different colors, candy melts come in a wide variety of colors to choose from. It is entirely up to you to decide what is best for your taste and requirements. You can also mix and match, using colored melts in the face of the mold and fill the remainder of the mold with real chocolate for flavor. Experiment and go nuts, there are no wrongs when making candy when it comes to individual taste.

You will need a medium pot and a stainless steel bowl to create a double boiler, if you have a double boiler, by all means use it.

Put enough water, about 1 cup, into the pot, place bowl on top of pot making sure the bowl does not touch the water. If the bowl touches the water it will cause the chocolate to overheat. If this happens your chocolate will not melt correctly and will be difficult to work with. Also be sure not to get any water mixed into the chocolate, this will cause the chocolate to become lumpy and useless. To check if the water is touching the bottom of the bowl lift it from the pot, if the bottom of the bowl is wet, pour out some of the water and check again. Continue doing this until the bowl comes out dry.

Put chocolate chips into the bowl, and add vegetable shortening, a good rule of thumb for the amount of shortening to use is, 1 tablespoon of shortening for every 1 cup of chocolate. If you use candy melts, you will not have to use shortening. Place bowl on top of pot and heat at the lowest possible setting available. It will seem to take long for the chocolate to melt but once it begins melting it will continue to melt quickly.

When the chocolate begins to melt it will become glossy, you can begin to stir, taking care not to allow the steam from the double boiler to infect your chocolate. If this happens your chocolate will become lumpy and unusable. Note: never remove your bowl from the pot this will insure your chocolate will melt properly.

Once your chocolate becomes smooth and creamy you can begin to mold your Chocolate house. You will know when its time, when your chocolate runs off the end of the spoon like syrup. Carefully pour spoonfuls of chocolate into the mold until all the molds are full. When your mold is full gently tap on a hard surface to release any air bubbles trapped between the mold and the chocolate. You can do this by lifting the entire mold gently off the flat surface and dropping it. Each time this is done you will see tiny air bubbles rising to the surface, continue doing this until there are no more bubbles.

Once all the bubbles are gone your mold is ready to be refrigerated. Refrigerate your mold on a flat surface to prevent the chocolate from dripping out of the mold and maintain its shape.

Most house molds only come with three sections, a side, a front and a top. You will have to fill the mold twice to have enough pieces to make one house. You will need 6 pieces in all to complete 1 house.

It will take at least an hour for your chocolate to harden enough to remove it from the mold, you will know when the chocolate is ready to remove from the mold when the mold becomes frosted, and you will not see a deep dark color in the mold. When this happens you are ready to unmold your candy. If there are any dark areas on the underside of the mold it means some of the chocolate is still soft. In this case, return the mold to the refrigerator until entire mold has a frosted appearance.

To unmold candies invert (flip over) the mold about an inch above a cloth napkin or parchment paper and tap or flex the molt on the counter until your candy is released.

Once all your house pieces are ready you can assemble your house. Using melted chocolate dip or spoon chocolate on the edges of each piece of house and push them together to form the house. Then spoon chocolate all over the top edges of the house to adhere the roof pieces. Don't worry about dripping chocolate, it is all edible and neatness isn't a factor. Once your house is assembled place on a flat surface and refrigerate for about an hour to assure your house will stay together in one piece.

You can decorate your house with powdered sugar if you like, if you plan on decorating your house with frosting and candy, I suggest that you do this before you put it all together. This will prevent your icing from dripping and making a mess, besides its easier decorating on a flat surface so use your own judgment when decorating.

Melted chocolate chips will last chilled for up to a week, if it is not chilled it will last about 3 days. If you plan on giving them as a gift, keep refrigerated until you are ready to pass them on.

If you have extra chocolate don't waste it, use it. Dip some fruit, crackers, nuts just about anything tastes great with chocolate all over it.

If you don't have a chocolate mold or can't find one, you can always make other things with melted chocolate. Try making bark. This is done with any type of nuts, melt chocolate as explained and add enough nuts to the chocolate to use up almost all of the chocolate. Spread chocolate and nuts mixture onto a long piece of waxed paper and place another piece of waxed paper on top of the chocolate and nuts mixture, press down flat and refrigerate. When chocolate is chilled completely, break into pieces and serve.

For a special treat you can dip plastic spoons into chocolate and serve with coffee, hot chocolate or tea for a unique flavor. The possibilities are endless when it comes to candy making, so have fun and enjoy.

I hope you have fun creating a chocolate house and candies of your own, Happy Holidays and happy candy making.