It all started sometime in very early elementary school when I had gone over to my cousin’s house after he got out of school. He had just had his Valentine’s party that day, and was loaded down with delicious looking Valentine’s loot attached to Valentine’s cards from all of his classmates.
(I wish I’d learned from this memory – I sent Ali to her Cubbies Valentine’s party with JUST cards, seeing as how that was what the instructions said. Imagine my feelings of inadequacy when she came home with a bag full of cards – but every one of them with candy, stickers, and other such gifts attached. Oops.)
Anyway, back to the 80’s.
Amidst my cousin’s plentiful loot was one of those colored-chocolate-suckers. A Red Rose.
(I guess it’s not really chocolate, but it’s the consistency of chocolate, except that it comes in all different colors, and tastes like White Chocolate, which was my childhood chocolate of choice).
I wanted that sucker so badly, but my cousin, ever the entrepreneur, wanted instead to try to sell his treats in the front yard to passers-by.
So we set up a Valentine-Candy-Selling Stand.
(Which, really, was quite the upgrade from the Rock-selling stand he’d convinced us to put up at our house once before.)
But his Mom wasn’t too keen on the idea of us selling Valentine’s candy to strangers (although surely it was better than us TAKING candy from strangers), so she came out and told us that we had to close up shop.
I, of course, was thrilled with this turn of events. This was my chance!! Maybe I’d end up with that amazing sucker after all…
But my cousin was quite upset at his foiled plans of great wealth, and to show his frustration, he feigned a kick in his Mom’s general direction. Which of course got him in trouble, and punished, and the candy taken away.
(sigh.)
That sucker and I just weren’t meant to be.
Fast forward to 2011.
Since I was giving birth at Christmastime, I wasn’t able (or at least willing in ANY way) to do my traditional Christmas baking with which we typically gift our neighbors. So instead, I decided Ali and I would make a much less intense batch of Valentine’s treats.
…Which was the perfect excuse to regain my childhood Valentine desires.
So I researched what we needed, and we bought the supplies at our local craft store.. Wilton Candy Melts
I read the directions – this was going to be SO easy!! Why haven’t I fulfilled this desire earlier in my life? All those years I wasted, sucker-less…
Simply melt the candies for a minute in the microwave right in microwaveable Wilton Icing bags, then cut the ends off and squeeze it into the molds.
What could go wrong???
Well, hypothetically speaking, one might forget that twist ties, unlike the bags, are NOT microwave safe:
After the loud popping, sparks, and firestorm, Ali informed me that she was going to go in the living room for the duration of the microwaving process, “so that I don’t get scared.”
But once Ali tasted the yumminess of the (non-burnt) melted candy, she forgave me for my arson attempts.
The first day, we simply squeezed the candy into the molds and left it at that. But I desired a higher level of artistic intricacy.
(Plus, we ate all of the suckers we made, leaving none for the neighbors.)
So we went back to the store and bought a candy paint tray and brush…
(Forgive Ali’s wardrobe. It was right after gymnastics…)
We melted a couple candies in our tray and painted the details in the molds one color, then squeezed another color over them to fill the molds.
And what we ended up with were surprisingly artistic dual colored candy suckers:
We bagged them up with Ali’s school assignment from that day – handwritten Valentines – and delivered them to our neighbors..
And, of course, fulfilled our own candy cravings to our heart’s desire.
It took 20+ years to actually have that sucker, but it was totally worth the wait.
…And we might just have to make Easter Suckers when we run out.
Then Independence Day Suckers…
Then Labor Day Suckers…
You get the point.
Wow. I am impressed. Those look amazing. Great job!
yum! I think River and I have our Easter craft!
Hey! That’s what I could do with our leftover melting chocolate from our Gingerbread party! Great idea!!
You avoided the biggest pitfall of all though. I rarely microwave that kind of chocolate because I tend to burn it when I do.
I microwaved them at half-power, and they worked just fine!
Yum! I love those suckers. We made those for Christmas, but I didn’t know how to do the detailing so that makes so much more sense now! We will have to try “painting” them next year. It looks like Ali had a lot of fun with it. :)
I LOVE those suckers!!! I might have to make some St.Patrick Day ones!
Oooh!! That sounds pretty!! I love Green Shamrocks!! Now I want a St Patty’s Day sucker…
So pretty! Ya’ll did a great job!
Ooooohh… I have to do that. Minus the popping and sparking, because I (like Ali) don’t like to be scared by my microwave. That looks like such a fun thing to do with the kids though! Yours look great!
I make white chocolate star lollipops for the gluten-free kiddo in C’s class at school anytime I bring cupcakes or cookies for the class. LOVE making chocolate molded stuff. We always made those for things when I was little. My mom has tons of molds that she just offered me a couple of weeks ago. I just might get those next time I see her. We should have a chocolate making party! I know she has Easter bunnies, cameos, and flowers.
That would be delightful!!!
Yum, we have made those too and love them!! Another favorite of mine are the Wilton molds you can get for Oreo cookies. You put the candy melts in them and press in a cookie until it’s covered!!
I saw those! But I don’t like Oreos… but Chris and Ali do!!
I love them! So impressive! Did those taste like white chocolate? Or were they different flavors? ( White chocolate makes me throw-up =/ )
The base flavor is White Chocolate, but Wilton also makes flavorings you can put in it – Peppermint, etc. We didn’t use those, but I was tempted!
Looks much easier than I imagined when I saw those suckers. :)
That makes me wish I was your neighbor!
good job! I usually burn the chocolate!
You are the coolest mom on the planet.
I discovered those candy molds this past summer. I wasn’t brave enough to try the paints, but yours look amazing! I may have to try those next time.
Oh, and for the girl who asked about the flavors, there are peanut butter and mint chocolate (I have that flavor, yum) among others. However, the white chocolate is probably the best for painting.
So the actual chips come in different flavors, too? I saw liquid flavors that you could add to the regular chips, but didn’t see different flavors of actual chips…
I used the “chocolate” last summer when I made toffee for a friend’s weeding…just melted and dipped…I hadn’t actually used the stuff since I worked for a caterer back in high school, but I remembered how fun it was…
Yummy. My mom made these with me when I was a little girl to give out on Valentine’s Day and on Christmas.