Temper chocolate?

[RapidBreath]

Anybody know how to do this? I am doing fine with the cookies, the fudge, the miniature loaves of quick bread, and muffins. But, I tried dipping pretzels into a chocolate candy (12 oz. semisweet chocolate, 2 tbsp. shortening melted in the microwave on low in 30 second increments until smooth.) and within a couple of days I'm noticing what I believe is fat bloom.

If there is a chocolatier in the house, I sure could use the help!

Thanks,

Alisha

 

[spyrosmom]

I've never tempered the chocolate to make pretzels before, and been doing the Christmas candy and pretzel thing for years. 1st, make sure your using chocolate, not the brown colored chocolate flavored candy bark stuff. 2nd, use good chocolate. Nestle chips don't cut it for me for this. I usually use Ghiradelli bars chopped up or Ghiradelli or Guitard chips. 3rd, semi-sweet or bittersweet seems to work better than milk chocolate.

Don't add anything to it, and make sure your utensils are dry. I just dump the chocolatey goodness into a bowl (make sure you taste test a few pieces 1st, gotta have quality control ) and stick the bowl in the microwave. Nuke about 30 secs and stir. Do it again, and stir, and then one more nuke should do it. At 1st it won't look like its melting, but it is. Don't just zap it until it melts, it'll burn. Gotta stir. Dip the preztels and put them on wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle with sprinkles if you'd like. I store mine in a big square tupperware container, and have had them for as long as 2 weeks with no bloom on them, but they normally don't make it quite that long. You can also melt the chocolate in a double boiler, but the microwave is easier. Just don't add anything to it, and you should be fine.

The whole process should take 10 mins from start to finish. You can also use good white chocolate (not that awful almond bark) the same way. For white chocolate make sure everything is extra dry and extra clean or it will separate.

Tomorrow or Sun is candy making day for me. Carmels, marble fudge, peanut brittle, and peppermint marshmellows. I'm cutting back on the number of goodies I make this year, it gets expensive, and I don't need to eat all that crud. Even though it is good crud. Then next weekend I'll probably do gingerbread cookies and candy cane cookies. Christmas Eve will be a fresh batch of peanut brittle for gifts.

Have fun, and send me some pretzels, I don't think I'm doing them this year, but that is subject to change. Yum!

Nan

 

[Fit_mommy]

OMG I think I just went into sugar shock from reading Nan's post!!!!

 

[RapidBreath]

Thanks!!! I appreciate the information!

 

[BeethovenRocks]

OMG I think I just went into sugar shock from reading Nan's post!!!!

I know, just makes me want to sit at her feet for the entire festive season...