Friday, April 6, 2012

Candy Bouquet

A young friend of mine lost her grandma recently, and I wanted to do something to let her know I care.  Being me -- I wanted something different and "original."  I finally settled on a homemade candy bouquet.  It was twice as enjoyable to do up since another friend spent the afternoon helping me make the candy and putting it all together. She's the one who got me my cake pop/donut hole maker for Christmas, so it was fitting that she was here when I used it first.  Here's what we included in the basket:
  1. Chocolate Covered Peeps
  2. Chocolate Covered Oreos
  3. Butterfly Lollipops
  4. Brownie Cake Pops
I chose a fun little bowl (from Wal-mart) that has water in it with spring things floating inside for the base of my arrangement.

A few little tips:
  • Add 1 T. shortening (or oil) to your chocolate to thin it and make it easy to apply
  • You can add food coloring (GEL ONLY) to White Almond Bark and make it whatever color you want instead of buying the bags of colored chocolate!  You'll want to add a bit extra shortening (or oil) though as it makes the chocolate thicker
  • I melt my chocolate in the microwave in an "old" cool whip (or soft margarine) container.  I heat for 30 seconds, stir, reheat for 30 more seconds etc. till chocolate is melted. THEN after I'm finished I throw the container away -- no cleaning up the smudges/smears of 1/2 melted chocolate! 
The recipe I used for the Cake Pops uses a brownie mix.......let me tell you they turned out to be addicting.....they sort of have a Reese cup taste with the peanut butter in the icing.

Brownie Cake Pops
1 brownie mix
water
egg
oil
1 cup sour cream
Preheat Cake Pop and Donut hole maker
Prepare brownie mix according to package directions
Fold in sour cream
Bake cake pops following directions on maker
Cool
For the icing I melted chocolate and added peanut butter to it.
Dip balls in icing
Let set till hardened 
ENJOY!
This post linked to:

Tip Junkie handmade projects

6 comments:

Pati @ A Crafty Escape said...

What a wonderful bouquet with such a nice thought behind it! I'm sure your friend will love it.

Christa said...

What a thoughtful gift! I'll have to remember to do something like this for a friend whose obsession is chocolate. :)

Thanks for the tip about coloring almond bark. I never thought of that, but I have lots of the gel food colorings.

Little Birdie Blessings said...

Esther this is delightful. I'm sure your friend will love it. You're a very thoughtful person, always reaching out to those who have a need. It's one of your gifts for sure. So happy that you share them on your blog. I always look forward to seeing what you've made next.

Thanks for the tip as well for melting chocolate in a disposable container. Way less mess. ~ Abby

Karen Letchworth said...

Ohh girl....my mouth is watering. I want some peanut butter eggs and cake pops. You're making my mouth water!
YUM!!
Karen

Pamela said...

Ah...always sheltering. What a perfect idea for someone young. Sometimes the young ones get a little lost during the grieving process.

Kyra @ caramelpotatoes.com said...

Yum!! I need a friend like you!!!