Hot Chocolate Spoon Food

HOT CHOCOLATE SPOONS

Steps:

• Place semisweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30 seconds. Stir well, and repeat for 30-second intervals until chocolate is completely melted and smooth, about 4 more times. (Note: If only a few lumps remain in the melted chocolate, microwave 15 seconds.) Stir vanilla into chocolate mixture until combined. Immediately spoon chocolate mixture evenly (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) into a 12- to 15-compartment silicone ice cube tray.
• Let chocolate cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with desired toppings, and insert a plastic spoon into center of each compartment. Freeze until chocolate hardens and is completely set, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from silicone ice tray.

HOT CHOCOLATE SPOON RECIPE

Steps:

• Add some water to a small saucepan and place a heatproof bowl on top to create a double boiler.
• Pour your chocolate chips into the bowl (melt each type of chocolate separately).
• Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil and then turn the heat to medium-low to simmer. You don't want to burn the chocolate. Stir to gently melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from heat. (For a time saver, you could also melt each chocolate type individually in small bowls in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted.)
• Place the ice cube mold on a baking sheet so that you can transfer it easily later. Pour the chocolate into the ice cube mold cavities (it should fill about 14 of them). Fill them to just below the top, because when you push the spoons in, the chocolate level will rise a bit.
• Tap the baking sheet gently on the counter to smooth out the surface of the chocolate.
• Sprinkle with desired toppings. Then, gently insert spoons into the chocolate in each cavity of the ice cube mold. (It is easier to add the toppings first, but if some of the toppings sink into the chocolate when you push the spoons in, just re-add some back to the top.)
• Carefully transfer the baking sheet with the ice cube mold on it to the freezer for about 30 minutes (or until hard) to help the chocolate set. Or you can also set it at room temperature if you prefer, but it'll take longer.
• Remove the spoons from the mold by gently flexing the mold around like you would with ice cubes to release the chocolates and pull them out. Use right away or store (in a cool place) by wrapping in a cellophane bag and tying a ribbon around the top.
• To serve: mix a chocolate spoon into 1 cup of hot water, milk or coffee and let the chocolate melt into it.

CANDY CANE HOT COCOA SPOONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Spray 3 soup spoons lightly with cooking spray. Place 3 unwrapped candy canes on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the candy canes are slightly soft and pliable and very warm to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes. Gently lift a candy cane and place onto one of the greased spoons (if they're too hot to touch, lift with a paper towel.) Mold and gently press the curved top of the candy cane into the bowl of the spoon so that it takes the shape of the spoon; the center of the bowl will be bare. Mold the straight part of the candy cane to the handle of the spoon. If the candy canes cool too quickly, you can pop them back in the oven for a minute or two to soften again. Let cool on the spoons while you bake the next batch of candy canes, continuing until you've molded them all.
• Melt the 3 chocolates in 3 separate small bowls by microwaving each on 50 percent power in 20-second intervals, stirring in between each, until melted.
• Dip the bowls of the candy cane spoons into the melted chocolate; you will have 4 of each type of chocolate. Set the spoons so that the chocolate-covered bowls sit flat on the cooled baking sheet and the handles tilt upward resting on the baking sheet rim. Let the chocolate set slightly, 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature or 5 minutes in the refrigerator. Keep the remaining chocolate in the bowls warm and melted, returning them to the microwave if necessary.
• Spoon some melted chocolate into the open unfilled space in the bowls of the spoons. Sprinkle with marshmallows, chocolate chips or crushed candy canes, mounding them in the center so they look like they're on the spoon. Let harden completely at room temperature, about 1 hour, or in the refrigerator, 15 to 20 minutes.

HOT CHOCOLATE STIRRERS

Steps:

• You will need:6 cupcake cases, pencil, pastry brush, 6 empty 47g fromage frais pots (washed and dried), 6 wooden lolly sticks, cellophane and string or ribbon for wrapping, 6 gift tagsPush a small hole in the middle of the cupcake cases with a pencil and put aside for later.
• Dip the pastry brush in the sunflower oil and paint a very thin layer of oil over the insides of the fromage frais pots.
• Put the chocolate in a bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-sec bursts until runny, stirring after each blast. Or melt it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (get an adult to help you). If you're using different types of chocolate, you should melt them separately.
• Carefully pour the melted chocolate into the pots. Put a lolly stick in the middle of each and sprinkle your chosen decorations around it.
• Sit a cake case on top of each pot so that it covers the chocolate and the stick pokes through the hole. Put them in the fridge to set overnight.
• The next day, carefully pull the chocolates out of the pots and throw away the paper cases. Wrap each in cellophane tied with string and write a tag to read: 'Simply stir into hot milk.'

HOT CHOCOLATE ON A SPOON

Steps:

• Melt the semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips in the microwave (or on the stovetop) for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring often to make sure it's not burning. Stir till all the pieces have melted fully.
• Stir the peppermint extract into the chocolate.
• Pour the melted chocolate into the silicone ice cube tray. Spread evenly between at least 10 molds.
• Add a bamboo or other lightweight spoon to each of the molds with chocolate.
• Top the chocolate with a tablespoon of mini marshmallows for each mold.
• Refrigerate the chocolate spoons for at least 1 hour to let the chocolate harden.
• To Serve - Pop the hot chocolate spoons out of the silicone ice cube molds. Heat a cup and a half of milk on the stovetop or in a microwave, add to a mug, and stir the hot chocolate spoon in the hot milk till it's fully combined.