Thanksgiving Cornucopia
Chocolate Project

By Bob Sherman

This project shows how to make a chocolate cornucopia filled with assorted chocolate covered pretzels for Thanksgiving. The chocolate making itself is fairly easy, however the mold needs to be cut out carefully. I chose chocolate covered pretzels for this project, however it could be filled with foil wrapped chocolates, candy, marzipan fruit, etc... if you prefer. Since a cornucopia is also called a horn of plenty, I felt the effect was heightened by an assortment of pretzels, rather than all the same.

Many 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 as they do not require tempering. My preferred brand is Merckens which works well with all chocolate molding projects, is available in a wide selection of colors, and tastes great.

Melting Chocolate
Either melting method may be used, but I find the double boiler works best for this.

Double Boiler - See Double Boiler Usage Instructions.

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.
3. Remove and stir.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the chocolate is creamy.
5. Optimum usage temperature is about 90 degrees F. Do not place the thermometer in the microwave!

Chocolate Making Supplies And Materials

The following chocolate making supplies and other materials were used to make this project. Clicking on the item name will bring you to that item's page with a full description and ordering information.

• Jumbo Cornucopia Chocolate Mold - In the letters desired. Note that if making many of these you will probably want more than one mold for each letter.
• Chocolate Coating - Milk, dark, and white chocolate was used here. Drizzle may be done in colors to make these more colorful.
• Autumn Leaves Edible Confetti
• Rainbow Non-Pareils
• Squeeze Bottle - One for each drizzle color will save time, otherwise they may be cleaned between each color
• Double Boiler
• Thermometer
• 12" Cake Board - One needed
• Gold Floral Foil - One needed
• Gold Twist Tie - One
• Pastry Brush - One to brush chocolate (optional), one to dust off the shavings
• Clear Cello Wrap
• Tape
• Scissors
• Pretzels
• Wax Paper

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1
The chocolate mold needs to be carefully cut to create the opening. Align the two halves and clip them together.

Step 2
Pour approximately 1 pound of melted chocolate into the mold.

Rotate the mold so the entire cavity is covered.

Rap the mold against the counter to dislodge any trapped air bubbles - this is important as there are lots of nooks and crannies to trap them on this mold.

Set the mold open side down on wax paper to drain.

Step 3
Allow it to cool for 10 minutes or so before continuing.

Use a knife to trim away excess chocolate from the opening. This is easy before the chocolate has fully hardened.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 at least once more. A minimum wall thickness of 1/4 inch (7 mm.) is desirable.

Optional - If your knife work is a bit sloppy, it may be neatened up with some melted chocolate on a pastry brush (this effect is visible in next photo).

Step 4
Allow it to air harden, then place in your freezer just long enough to de mold easily - approximately 7 minutes.

Trim the seams with a sharp knife if needed.

Tip: After seam trimming a clean, dry pastry brush may be used to remove the shavings without blemishing the finish.

Set it aside for now.

Step 5
Dip some pretzels in milk chocolate.

I sprinkled 1/3 of them with non-pareils, 1/3 with edible confetti, and left 1/3 plain for a later step.

Step 6
Repeat step 5 with dark chocolate and white chocolate.

Step 7
Use a squeeze bottle to drizzle the plain pretzels with a contrasting color.

Immediately move the pretzels to a clean sheet of wax paper or they will have fragile drips of chocolate hanging off when cooled.

Step 8
An assortment of drizzled pretzels - vary the color and drizzle direction for variety.

Step 9
Cover a cake board with gold foil.

Attach the cornucopia to it with melted chocolate.

Fill and place any extras around it on the board.

Step 10
Wrap with cello wrap and tie off with a twist tie.

Support Free Projects
You can help ensure the continued availability 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 making practices as of the time of this writing - October 2008. The author and the publisher accept no liability for the use or misuse of any of the information presented in this article. This article is presented for informational purposes and is used at your own risk.

Author: Bob Sherman

Publisher: Bobby's Craft Boutique Inc.

This article is provided free of charge for use. Products may be made and sold using this idea royalty free.

Web sites may use links to this page without restriction.

No portion of this article may be reproduced for publication elsewhere without express permission from Bobby's Craft Boutique Inc. with the following exceptions:

• Non profit organizations such as religious groups, scouts, 4h, etc... may use this information without permission for printed materials provided it is used without modification and credit is given to both the author and onestopcandle.com
• Reprinting to the web is prohibited without permission, however web sites wishing to link to this article may do so without permission.
• Those wishing to print a copy for themselves (personal use) may do so without permission

All other requests need to be submitted via our reprint request form.

Home > Chocolate Making Supplies > Chocolate Making Projects > Thanksgiving Chocolate Projects > Chocolate Cornucopia Project

CONTACT US
TECH SUPPORT
NEWSLETTER
FAQ
FORUM
BLOG

This site is best when viewed in 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution in a web standards compliant browser.