I am planning to make Lego brick candies for my kids birthday goody bags. I did a trial with wilton candy melts and the lego brick molds and it came out perfect (looks like a real lego brick) but I did not like the taste and it was quite hard to bite (maybe its me ). (I had cooled it in the refrigerator 10 mins)
Is there any way I can soften a bit? or do i have to accept it will be like hard candy and assume kids will enjoy.
Thanks a lot to all the mommies who replied on my post wrt candy melts.
If you can help me suggest how can I store them, I am making lego bricks (made 1 batch and put them in zip log) for the kids goody bags. I plan to wrap each brick with cellophane paper to put inside the goody bag. Will it stay ok in it???
BTW I have to make around 100 lego bricks (I have triplets in grade 1 but each are in different class )...yeah I know I am insane but hoping my 3 monkies would help me:)
I've always used colored white chocolate from candy supply stores. Personally I think they taste better. You can leave them at room temp it won't bother it n won't b super hard
Eta I second the merkins melts its the best its all my family uses
I just did this for my son's birthday in December. (I also made lego mini figures with the candy melts.) I used the molded candies to decorate cupcakes and put some in the goody bags. The cupcakes were served to 15 boys at room temperature and none of the boys complained about the taste or the candies being too hard. (My son who is a very picky eater and my daughter who is not a picky eater both love the taste of the candy melts as is. We've been making candy with them for years.) After having the candies on the cupcakes, the boys were very excited to find them in their goody bags as well.
Sometimes I use paramount crystals or crisco to make the candy more pliable and smooth. It takes a bit longer for the candy to harden and set if you let it harden at room temperature. But this may help it from getting rock hard.
I make cake pops and I know the wilton candy is a pain to work with to get the right consistency. If you use crisco use about 1 tsp at a time. The paramount crystals, I just use a lil at a time until it's more liquid like.
HTH!
SM
Did you eat it straight from the fridge? When it is at room temperature it will not be so hard. Craft stores like Michael's sell candy flavoring that you can add to improve the taste, but be careful not to use too much, they are strong. I think that the kids will love the chocolates, they sound really cute!
Candy melts get soft & melt easily when they're out, especially when it's warm. I would keep them in a cool place until you're ready for the kids to have them. The only time they're hard is when they're cold from the refrigerator. Just from touching them will make them melt. If you add Crisco it will make it softer but you don't need to add it when you're making candy only. You only add it when you need to glaze like with cake pops.
You can turn it into candy clay. It will have the texture more like a tootsie roll. I think it tastes a bit like a vanilla tootsie roll.
I use candy clay to mold all kinds of things. http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Candy-Clay-1 Basically you melt the candy and add 1/4 cup corn syrup. Knead it a bit and wrap it and let it dry (it will look wet at first and will dry out after having time to set up). I just use a ziplock bag or air tight tupperware for mine.
If you want to make it different flavors, you can add oil based flavors to it.
if you melt them another 20 seconds (half power), the chocolate will be smoother. Also, you need to let them set out for about 5 mins before eating.
Once they are formed, you can store them in an tupperware container or ziploc bag, on the counter.
Yeah I kinda think it was just too cold from the fridge. I would leave some out on the counter and see what happens then. I've never used the flavoring, although that sounds fun! If you have a cake decorating store near you you might check that out too. Ours has already flavored melts. They aren't Wilton but I've used them and they work just fine and taste good!
Also, you can just buy those Lego looking bricks that are sweet tarty flavor. My kids like those too! Just sayin'! :)
Yep, be sure it's not right out of the fridge as others note. If you add milk or butter, I would be very cautious -- I suspect that would make the melts "seize" and turn un-fixably grainy. Check on the Wilton web site; there may be a "frequently asked questions" section that could help you!
If you want to keep making molded candies for anyone other than young kids (I make them for us to sell at my daughter's ballet school performances, and to give as gifts), I recommend you switch to Merckens brand candy melts--you may have to order it online unless you can locate a candy and cake-making supply shop in your area. MUCH better quality candy melts with better texture and flavor, Ifind. Yes, Merckens costs more but is tastier! But Wilton is OK for kids' stuff if they aren't picky....A good candy/cake making store also will have a ton more molds than the craft stores that sell Wilton melts, plus flavorings, bags for candy...really fun to explore! I have done candies that were Egyptian pyramids and gods, tools, angels, Easter Eggs, and a lot of dance-themed ones too, thanks to molds!
Candy melts result in a harder chocolate, but they'll soften if you leave them out. Cold = hard :)
if, at room temp, they are still too hard you could try mixing in some milk or butter before adding the chocolate to the molds.
Wow! I wish I could be such a great baker, candy maker. I cannot even bake cookies! :(
