Custom Party Favor
Chocolate Bar Project

By Bob Sherman

These make great party favors or on a smaller scale a small gift for that special someone. You could spend a bundle and buy commercial software for making wrappers that fit mass produced chocolate bars, but with minimal effort and your choice of graphics software they are easy to make from scratch.

The heart of this project is making the wrapper. You will need some basic skill with drawing software or a good word processor (or need to recruit someone with the skill). These can be very basic with just writing, or more elaborate incorporating clip art or a scanned photo. The good news is that most computers come bundled with at least a basic graphics program that can be used. Alternately these could be done by hand for a really personal touch if you have decent artistic or calligraphy skills

The only portion that is critical are the dimensions of the wrapper which must be sized to fit the chocolate bar properly. The photo below shows the necessary dimensions. Although I used plain white paper to illustrate this article more clearly, colored or patterned paper could also be used.

Most of the items you may need can be ordered directly from this page for your convenience.

PLEASE NOTE!! - Although chocolate making is relatively safe for the entire family to participate, adult supervision is required.

Chocolate
I prefer to use chocolate wafers designed for home molding chocolate. My preferred brand is Merckens which works well with all chocolate molding projects without tempering, and tastes great.

Melting Chocolate
For a small project like this either melting method may be used, but I prefer a double boiler for ease on control.

Double Boiler

1. Place chocolate in the pot.
2. Heat until creamy.
3. For best results, chocolate should be used at 88 to 90 degrees F. Under no circumstances should chocolate ever be poured hotter than 160 degrees F. because this will destroy the mold.

A microwave may also be used but care must be taken not to overheat the chocolate.

1. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Heat for 30 seconds. Note: When heating small amounts of chocolate, reduce this to 10 second increments.
3. Remove and stir.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the chocolate is creamy.
5. For best results, chocolate should be used at 88 to 90 degrees F. Under no circumstances should chocolate ever be poured hotter than 160 degrees F. because this will destroy the mold.

1. The mold is used without modification.	2. Fill the mold with chocolate. Tap against the counter to dislodge any trapped air bubbles.
3. Place in a freezer for several minutes until it de molds easily.	4. Place a piece of foil on the counter with the shiny side down.
5. Center the chocolate on the foil with the markings facing down.	6. Fold in the ends.
7. Fold in the sides. Note: The following steps should only be done on a very clean surface - note the grease stain in the following photos from contact with some white chocolate I hadn't noticed.	8. Position your wrapper so that the design is centered on the top of the bar. Fold one side over.
9. Place face down on your counter and fold over the second side as tightly as possible. Join with a glue stick or piece of clear tape.	10. The finished chocolate bar.

Support Free Projects
You can help ensure the continued availabilty and production of free chocolate projects by telling your friends about them. The more popular they are the more we can produce so tell your friends, mention them on message boards, link to them from your web site, etc... More information is available here.

Disclaimer: The information presented here is accurate to the best of my knowledge and common chocolate molding practices as of the time of this writing - June 2006. The author and the publisher accept no liability for the use or misuse of any of the information presented in this article. This articles is presented for informational purposes and is used at your own risk.

Author: Bob Sherman

Publisher: Bobby's Craft Boutique Inc.

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