These gluten-free homemade Valentine's Day chocolate bars are an easy way to say "I Love You"! They are the perfect DIY Valentine's Day gift! All chocolate lovers will love these homemade chocolate bars as a gift on February 14. It might even be better than a box of chocolates!
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Ingredients
- 24 ounces white or dark chocolate
- ⅛ cup crushed M&M's
Equipment
- A double boiler
- A rubber spatula
- Chocolate bar molds
- A baking sheet
- Precut parchment paper
Instructions
- Temper the chocolate.
- Add crushed M&M's and other Valentine's Day candies to each mold before pouring the chocolate into the mold. After the chocolate is poured, place the chocolate in the refrigerator until hardened. Once the chocolate is set, carefully peel off the mold and enjoy.
How to Temper Chocolate
You need a double boiler. A double boiler is a pot set inside another pot filled with simmering water. This allows you to melt chocolate without burning it. To make a double boiler, choose a small or medium saucepan and fill it with a small amount of simmering water. Place a shallow, heatproof dish on top of the saucepan. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of your dish. You want the boiling liquid to warm the dish, but you don’t need it to get too hot.
White chocolate should be melted slowly over low heat. A clean, dry spoon works best for mixing. Don’t lift the lid of the double boiler while heating. Steam can escape, and you don’t want that!
Take a look at my recipe for orange and pistachio white chocolate bars HERE.
Easy Microwave Chocolate Tempering
Melting chocolate or confectionery coatings in the microwave is easy. You’ll need a microwave-safe bowl and some microwave-safe utensils. Put the chocolate into the bowl. Stir the chocolate until it is melted. Take out the bowl and put it back into the microwave. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir again. Repeat this process until the chocolate is completely melted.
Chocolate needs to be heated gently in the microwave. Don’t heat it too much, or else it will become grainy.
Need more information on tempering chocolate? Visit my blog post on white dipping chocolate HERE.
How to make homemade chocolate bars
Start by choosing your favorite type of chocolate, then pick your favorite topping. In this recipe, I chose dark chocolate and Valentine's Day M&M's.
How to wrap homemade chocolate bars
I recommend buying some gold, silver, or pink foil. Then, after wrapping the homemade chocolate bars in foil, secure them with a red grosgrain ribbon.
Customize your DIY chocolate bars
You can easily switch out the Valentine's Day M&M's for other Valentine's Day candies. Or, add dried fruit and nuts and seeds for a healthier Valentine's Day gift.
How to Clean Chocolate Molds
Chocolate molds should be cleaned after every use. Cleaning them with soap and water is recommended. Don’t put chocolate molds in dishwashers because the high heat could warp the plastic.
FAQ
What does tempering mean?
Tempering refers to a process in which chocolate is heated and cooled to make sure that the cocoa butter in it solidifies into a uniform crystal structure. Chocolate is tempered by melting it and then cooling it down again.
Chocolate needs to be tempered before use. Tempering means heating the chocolate until it reaches a specific point called the softening point. Once this happens, the chocolate will become very smooth and glossy. After cooling, the chocolate will harden. To test if your chocolate is ready, break a bit off and see if it snaps. If it does, it’s ready.
Can I use chocolate chips to make homemade chocolate?
Chocolate chips can be pure chocolate or compounds chocolate. You need to know how to look at the ingredients list to determine the type of chip. Pure chocolate chips will contain cocoa butter and will need to be tempered. Compounds of chocolate chips will have milk powder listed as an ingredient and will not need to be tempered.
Most dark and milk chocolate chips contain pure chocolate, but some white chocolate chips are compound chocolates, too.
How do I clean the chocolate molds?
Chocolate molds should be cleaned after every use. Cleaning them with soap and water is recommended. Don’t put chocolate molds in dishwashers because the high heat could warp the plastic.
Can I Make These in Advance?
Yes! They can be made up to a week in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Can I use another type of chocolate?
Of course. I chose to use dark chocolate, but milk chocolate and white chocolate would be delicious, too.
What are some packaging ideas?
There are lots of chocolate bar packaging ideas. I like to secure mine with some pink foil and a red grosgrain ribbon for Valentine's Day. You can also wrap the chocolate bars in parchment paper and place them in small pink boxes. Then, wrap the boxes up and tie them with a big pink bow.
Homemade Valentine Chocolate Bars: How To
Equipment
- A double boiler
- A rubber spatula
- Chocolate bar molds
Ingredients
- 24 ounces white or dark chocolate
- ⅛ cup crushed M&M's
Instructions
- Temper the chocolate.
- Add crushed M&M's and other Valentine's Day candies to each mold before pouring the chocolate into the mold. After the chocolate is poured, place the chocolate in the refrigerator until hardened. Once the chocolate is set, carefully peel off the mold and enjoy.
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