Donna Travis, owner of the Party Time store in Baton Rouge, has been making homemade chocolate candies with her mother around the holiday season for more than 30 years. Today the family’s candy-making tradition spans three generations, with Travis’ daughter also helping to craft the decadent chocolates that would be at home in any store window.
Travis says creating these delicious treats is a perfect family activity for the holiday season — and one that is surprisingly easy with the right supplies and approach.
“It’s a great tradition and a way to create lasting memories with your family,” she says. “It’s also a perfect holiday gift because people really love homemade chocolate.”
That long-running family tradition is behind one of the most extensive selections of candy-making supplies in the area. The store offers the tools, equipment and molds needed to re-create or invent a wide range of candies and chocolates.
It also carries candy melts in white chocolate, milk chocolate and semisweet chocolate flavors, in a variety of colors. Party Time has carried the same brand of premium baking chocolate for 30 years, which Travis says offers a quality and flavor that is a cut above the typical supermarket selections. “Yes, it may be a little more expensive, but the quality is so much better,” she says. “Once people taste our products they come back and get them every year.”
Party Time also offers more than 30 flavorings — from almond to lemon to strawberry and beyond — to customize your treats to your own taste. Other options include decorative bags and containers designed to hold and deliver the treats and candy molds, as well as double boilers and melting bowls to help melt chocolate without creating a mess.
Travis says her family’s favorite candies to make during the holidays are chocolate turtles — a classic treat that combines chocolate, caramel and pecans — which she wraps in shiny red foil paper to give to family and friends each Christmas. “When I have people over during the Christmas season, they always ask ‘Where are the turtles?’ ” she says. “It’s a really special treat to make that doesn’t take a lot of effort. People really love them.”
Here are five easy chocolate candy recipes that are sure to wow your guests this holiday season.
Roast the pecans by spreading them on a cookie sheet and placing in a 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Alternatively you can microwave them on high for 30 seconds, then stir; repeat until the nuts are hot to the touch. “Not only does it bring the oil out in the pecans, but it seems like more pecans when they are crunchier,” Travis says.
Place the caramel in a dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften; do not melt. Work the pecans into the softened caramel and then form into a roll. Cut into wafer-cookie-sized pieces. Dip into melted chocolate. Makes about 30 turtles.
Peanut Butter Cups
The classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter will make these a holiday hit with guests of all ages.
1 lb. milk chocolate, melted
18 oz. of peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
1 stick melted butter or margarine
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon invertase
Peanut butter cup molds
Mix the peanut butter and melted butter together with a spoon. Add the powdered sugar and knead with your hands until smooth. The mixture can then be rolled into a ball.
Put a small amount of melted milk chocolate into the bottom of the peanut butter cup mold and chill. When the chocolate has solidified, add a patty of the peanut butter mixture, then cover with more melted chocolate. Put the mold in the freezer for about four minutes, then turn it over and tap the finished candy onto the table.
Pistachio Cranberry Bark
This simple recipe works great with both white and dark chocolate.
1 lb. white chocolate or 1 lb. milk chocolate
1 cup peeled pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries
Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30-second intervals until smooth. Spread out chocolate onto wax paper and sprinkle pistachios and cranberries evenly on top. Allow to cool until completely hardened and then break up into uneven pieces. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
Peppermint Bark
Among the easiest candies to make, this crunchy and colorful option is always a crowd-pleaser.
Melt chocolate until smooth and stir in the crunch. Spread thinly on wax paper. Let cool until it hardens, then break into pieces.
Snowball Surprise
These winter-themed white-chocolate treats offer a bit of texture with a punch of peanut butter flavor in the center.
1 lb. white chocolate, melted
2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix together all ingredients except the chocolate and roll into balls. Dip balled mixture in chocolate and set aside to dry. One batch yields about 50 candies.
Stop by Party Time at 3350 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA, 70809 for all of your homemade chocolate supplies.
Content provided by our sponsor: Party Time.
1 lb. white chocolate or 1 lb. milk chocolate
These winter-themed white-chocolate treats offer a bit of texture with a punch of peanut butter flavor in the center.
