Homemade Liquor Filled Chocolates

For years I have made homemade goodies for our neighbors, this year I am making specialty chocolates. I made a quick batch to see if it was worth accomplishing, and they were a great hit at the party we went to last weekend! I made Whiskey (Screwball) peanut butter chocolate bon bons. I am thinking of making several options based on what the individuals like, Godiva, whiskey, bourbon, and of course red wine.

What about the naysayers who think chocolate is candy and not a good gift (I don’t know who you are, but stay away) Here is some good news for you, According to Scripps.com;

“When you think of heart-healthy foods, chocolate may not make your list right away. But this scrumptious treat — dark chocolate in particular — has been touted for many years to have health benefits. So is dark chocolate actually healthy?
Studies show that dark chocolate — when it is not loaded with sugar and saturated fat — is indeed a heart-healthy chocolate treat and more.
Dark chocolate is rich in disease-fighting antioxidants. Studies show it can help reduce blood pressure and lower your risk of heart disease.”
Citation Scrip p s

You are welcome my friend, now go eat chocolate!

I can’t wait to get my video equipment in but for now, I will use photos to help with the steps. This is a messy one so be prepared to get covered in chocolate.

Now that I have spent the entire afternoon and evening making these I can tell you the do and don’t that I am now familiar with. Only based on my very limited experience.

First, when I made these last weekend I did it based on what I thought would work, and low and behold it did, and people liked it. After looking at recipes online apparently what I did was not supposed to work. So I tried other versions, and they were a disaster and not easy at all. After cleaning up, ready to quit and do something more my range… Like, go sit on the couch with some wine thinking of the mess I made. I decided to do what I did last weekend and again it worked great. So if you are one of those experts that want to tell me what I did was not technically right, don’t bother, I know this. However, IT WORKED. So I am going to say in my experience (though limited) do not use gelatin to make the alcohol filling, it tasted bad and had an odd mouth feel (is that a real description?). Don’t use anything but semi-sweet chocolate, and forget that it can seize when liquid is added because I am going to amaze you.

At the end of the post, I will put what I used, I would do a recipe card, yet I did not measure anything, mostly because the only measurement is the alcohol and we all have a different preference. This is a super easy recipe other than it is also a super sloppy work in progress. Who does not like to be covered in Chocolate?

First we will melt two bags of semi sweet chocolate. I added two more bags as I went on, but that all depends on how many sweets you will be making.

You can melt these as I did over a pot of hot water, or you can melt them in the microwave. Both methods work, I like the stove., it is just a personal preference.

If you choose to microwave the bag of chocolate will have instructions on them.

The chocolate should have a smooth consistency before use. Believe it or not, the chocolate will stay like this for some time, I just left it over the hot water, and when I needed more I cranked the gas back up and poured more into melt. Easy Peasy.

I used two sets of molds, these ones were from Lidle, the pineapple was in a box from FabFitFun. I did try a mold from Ikea, and it was not easy to remove the chocolate. If I could give you a note of caution, don’t use a mold too intricate. If I do it again (and you know I will) I will use a simple heart or round shape.

Fill the molds, hold them over the chocolate bowl, and drain all the excess into the bowl. Turn the mold upside down and pat it to get the most out of the mold.

You will put the mold upside down into the refrigerator, allow it to set a minimum of ten minutes, you should now have a cup to fill.

At this time you will take a couple scoops of chocolate from the bowl, now we put in our selected treat. I can attest the Screwball peanut butter whiskey is great with the chocolate. I am liberal with my pour. I want the chocolate to be a background to the center. Now it is such a small amount in each sweet, so no worries. However, I think if you’re going to make it a treat. Don’t be shy. (Just my humble opinion).

Fill the chocolates, the picture does not show you to NOT overfill them. I ended up going back and scooping a bit out with a tiny spoon. You need room for the backing to adhere to the chocolate.

Here is what it looks like (not pretty) when you leave room for the top portion. So now that the filling is in, throw it back in the refrigerator for at least ten minutes to harden. After this, you take it out and cover the last bit with chocolate from the bowl. Again throw into the fridge…. allow to set.

You may notice the backs are not the same quality you get from a box from say – CVS/Walgreens lol. Of course not they are handmade. I used a small grater to get them to not be so misshaped on the backs.

Use the grater to gently scrape the unwanted chocolate off. What! Unwanted chocolate, say it isn’t so. lol, We here at this blog care about all chocolate! It’s just me but I do =)

I went ahead and melted some white chocolate and threw it over half of the chocolates. Until the darn ziplock bag popped putting it EVERYWHERE.

It’s not always a smooth process, but it is usually worth it.

So with that being said, All I did was melt chocolate (use semi-sweet) add alcohol (stir it in until it is not clumpy) I promise you the seizing part will go away, and if it gets hard just microwave it for 30 seconds.

I will be using these in a little to-go box with other homemade items for our dearest friends/neighbors. Tis the Season.

I hope you enjoyed this amazingly easy method and possibly the fact that you can do this with no problem as well. If I can do it…. haha ok – Enjoy

LauraLovinglife

I can be reached at LauraLovingLife@hotmail.com should you have any questions or suggestions. Otherwise, I am very interested in hearing your thought below, yep hit that comment button!