I remember seeing a post on here where someone talked about making their own chocolate covered strawberries. I might give that a try. I recently saw some offered for sale, but they were ridiculously expensive. I'd much rather try it myself. I also think chocolate dipped pretzels make a nice treat, and they look pretty in the package. Someone else mentioned to me that they were making chocolate dipped Rick Krispies Treats. That sounds kind of fun too. Oreo Cookies are sometimes offered in a chocolate or white chocolate dipped option, but you could make your own of those too. What other treats do you think would make a good chocolaty gift?
I love strawberries dipped in chocolate and they're super easy to make. You should definitely give them a go! Another alternative that I like, although generally at Christmas rather than any other time of year, is chocolate dipped candy canes. I like to either eat them as they are, or use them as stirrers in hot chocolate. The extra chocolate adds an even richer flavour to the hot chocolate, I find. I also like icecream with a hard chocolate shell around it, or frozen bananas done the same way.
Hmmm, I'll have to keep the candy cane idea in mind for next Christmas. Package some of those with some nice cocoa and a pretty mug and that would make a good gift (I might need to set aside a couple for myself, just to make sure they're good ). I enjoy ice cream too. I believe I've heard of a recipe for the hard shell topping. I could make that as a gift for ice cream lovers. I think tart cherries and other fruits would make good treats too. I can't really think of a lot of other things right now, but I'm sure there are lots more. What wouldn't be good in dipped in chocolate, right?
Right! I think most things are great dipped in chocolate! Another thing I've seen done, now I think about it, is having marshmallows dipped in chocolate to use in hot chocolate. Everyone knows marshmallows and hot chocolate go well together, so I'm sure dipping them in chocolate too would be good! And could go well with a cocoa set too! I just remembered seeing chocolate dipped pretzels as well! I've never had those though so I'm not sure what they'd be like.
I think this is great and one of the easier ways to make a homemade gift that won't seem like you are doing it just because you are trying to save money. One I found that was pretty cool was a product specifically for making cake balls dipped in chocolate, wherein you are given a tray which will make spherical cakes and a melting pot for the chocolate for dipping. I've seen some videos on it and it seems like you'd need to practice a bit or at least experiment to get the right routine or procedure before you get the perfect balls and melt but even when it doesn't come out perfectly it still looks pretty good since you can cover everything up with dip and sprinkles anyway.
Another good idea, @cocolgooh. Chocolate dipped pretzels are really good. I enjoy them, but I guess it depends on if you like the sweet and salty combination, which I do. @DrRipley I have seen cake balls on sticks, but I haven't seen this kit you're talking about. It sounds cool. The whole thing sounds like it would be a lot of fun. If they don't turn out that well the first time, you can always eat them while perfecting your technique. Yes, you will save money making these types of treats as gifts, as opposed to buying them, and I think they make nice gifts. I wouldn't mind receiving some.
I've seen a review of it online where someone used it once and dismissed it as not up toar just because the balls didn't turn out perfectly spherical and the chocolate was too thick and according to him the heat wasn't enough. I scrolled down the comments and a lot of people were saying that the chocolate needed some oil to thin it out and the technique was the one mostly at fault and not the product. I think it's absurd to expect perfection at first try with a product like this and even if the balls weren't perfect they still looked passable to me anyway.
I like all of these ideas. I used to do a lot more at the holidays than I have lately, and making fudge and chocolate dipped treats was one of those things. One year I got the thicker pretzel sticks and dipped some on dark chocolate and others in white chocolate. I then rolled them in bowls of finely chopped nuts or sprinkles. I only did the bottom half of the pretzel sticks, so it was easy to hold them. I've also done the same with plastic spoons, then they can be dipped in coffee or hot chocolate, and used as stir sticks to flavor the beverages.
I have made my own chocolate dipped goodies and it was fun to do with the kids. The choices are limitless of what you could do. Chocolate dipped Oreos sound really good. I have done marshmellows and strawberries. I think they were very tasty. You can even decorate the chocolate with sprinkles in different colors to match certain themes if you wanted to. For example, the marshmellows I dipped in white chocolate and then used red and blue sprinkles for 4th of July treats. I have seen tons of recipes on Pintrest of the different types of foods to use like rice krispy treats. I have also dipped graham crackers in milk chocolate and I really liked that. I think it is fun to try to come up with different foods to dip.
One of my favorites is chocolate covered raisins and peanuts mixed together. You don't see them together often. Chocolate covered graham crackers with peanut butter is good also. How it can be presented as a gift I don't know but the combo is great.
My kids love chocolate covered strawberries. They are so easy to make and I feel like my kids are getting some fruit as well. I've changed it up and use a variety of different chocolates to dip. My youngest likes white chocolate, my oldest likes milk chocolate and my husband and I like dark chocolate. I have tried making the chocolate covered pretzels for my kids bake sales. They are always a hit. I've tried making cake pops but they are very labour intensive. You have to make the cake and then mold it around the stick, shape it into a circle and then dip it in chocolate. Some other things you can or drizzle chocolate on: popcorn, apples, oreos, almonds and marshmallows.
When I was a kid we had a neighbor who would always make her famous chocolate covered peanut brittle and it was the best thing ever. I really wish I could go back to those days and just try a little piece. I think that these sorts of gifts are underrated, and if I am thinking back to things like that then that means they are great gifts, and I would give up most gifts in favor of those treats.
