aproposof's Friends

Don't You Wish I Was Your Co-worker?

Homemade Chocolates
Originally uploaded by xingcat

I made these chocolate treats for my officemates, as a Christmas present. I'll bring them into the office tomorrow, along with a big pile of chocolate bourbon balls that are in the fridge chilling.

I love making chocolates, and sometimes wish I were a chocolatier. It's about as reasonable a career path as baking; you have to be totally committed to the craft and realize that nobody is going to understand how much work it all takes.

The platter has French Bark (bittersweet chocolate with cashews, apricots, cranberries and cherries), Cranberry-Almond Snowballs (white chocolate ganache filled with fruit and nuts and drizzled with dark chocolate) and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.

I used about 3 pounds of chocolate to make all this stuff. I also candied mint leaves to use as garnish. I was going to experiment with fresh mint stirred into chocolate and garnished with the candied mint leaves, but I ran out of dark chocolate and didn't feel it would be right to put mint and milk chocolate together.

I tried to make honeycomb candy, but I screwed something up and burned the sugar. I tried it twice (it only takes 3/4 of a cup of sugar), but I couldn't get it to work, and the house now smells like we had a 4-alarm fire, so I think it's time to call it a day.

I may make more candies for Suzanne's party, and I'd planned on making gingerbread and tuilles, which I'll probaby do for relatives and friends I visit just before Christmas.

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