My Homemade Valentine

Valentine’s Day hasn’t changed much since I was in grammar school. Kids buy flimsy cards with silly sayings that are nearly identical to the ones I used to get, and figuring out just the right one for each classmate is still the tricky part: Nice or mean, everybody gets one.

This year, since my sons are still too young to play the game of matching Valentine cards to classroom personalities, we decided to make our own Valentines. I wanted candy that we could all make together, something that wouldn’t be difficult or dangerous for young kids.

With the help of Frank Sheftel at the Candy Factory in North Hollywood, I found just what I was looking for: a quick, safe and creative way to produce personalized chocolate candies. The chocolate is melted in the top of a double-boiler with the heat off, poured into molds that set up after just five minutes in the freezer.

Note: The supplies for this project can be found in most candy supply shops. One good one: The Candy Factory, 12530 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, (818) 766-8220 and 123 N. El Camino Real, Suite F, Encinitas, (619) 942-1232.

TO MAKE CANDIES YOU WILL NEED:

Water

1 (13x9-inch) baking dish

1 muffin tin

Few disks pink and red chocolate for painting

2 wooden skewers

Plastic Valentine molds of choice

1 pound milk chocolate disks

25 plain or decorative cellophane bags

1 roll red curling ribbon

Scissors or plastic ribbon shredder

Bring pot of water to boil and pour into glass baking dish.

Place muffin tin on top of hot water and place pink and red chocolate disks in tins, separating by color. (Small ramekins or glass bowls may also be used; muffin tins work well when several colors are being melted.) Allow chocolate to melt.

Using wooden skewers, paint inside of plastic molds where desired with dabs of melted pink or red chocolate. Set aside.

Heat water in bottom of double-boiler just until it begins to boil and remove from heat. Place milk chocolate disks in top of double-boiler and allow chocolate to melt, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Do not cover chocolate or add any liquid to it.

When chocolate is melted, spoon it into candy molds, covering portions of molds “painted” with chocolate. Once molds are filled, tap them on a flat surface to release bubbles and level chocolate. Place molds in freezer 3 to 5 minutes, depending on mold size. When chocolate is set, it will pop out easily when mold is turned upside-down or tapped. Allow molds to return to room temperature before refilling to use remaining chocolate.

Fill each cellophane bag with few candies and tie with ribbon.

Curl ribbon with scissors or plastic ribbon shredder.