These cookie cutter chocolates are a great activity to do with kids! Melted chocolate is poured into cookie cutter molds and topped with all sorts of fun toppings!
Today’s post is part of a blogger Easter “virtual party”! Check out great Easter recipes from my blogger friends! Links are at the bottom of the post!
A couple of weeks ago I posted my rosemary sea salt chocolate bark, geared more towards adults. Today I want to share a fun chocolate bark activity for kids!
How many of you parents like to cook with your kids? I’m in the kitchen so much, you would think I’d let my kids join in once in a while, right? I’m actually guilty of the opposite. I’m constantly telling my kids to “go play”, “go outside”, “shall we turn on a movie?”(their favorite).
The problem is, when kids mix things in a bowl… some of it always ends up on the table, and the floor, and their hair…
I let them help me occasionally, when I’m feeling extra patient. It often turns out well, and is a positive experience for us all. On the flip side, I’ve also found myself snapping and nagging at them, and I’m afraid that I will make the kitchen a negative place for them. How sad would that be?
But THIS recipe, if you can even call it that, is perfect for kids! It’s such a fun and easy project where you can give your kids lots of creative freedom. Be prepared to do a little sweeping afterwards, but you don’t have to worry about spills “messing up” your final product.
It’s really really simple. Melt the chocolate, pour into the cookie cutters, and top top topping away! Depending on the age of your children, they can even pour the chocolate into the molds!
The two issues I ran into are: 1. I didn’t get the milk chocolate melted enough to pour well, so it was a bit more blobby and I had to spread it out with a spoon. No problem, still turned out fine. 2. If a child bumps the cookie cutter after you put the chocolate in, it will have a little bit that sticks out. You can see that in several of the pictures. Also no big deal.
Really, this recipe is easy and fun, and you can get SO creative with the toppings!
Here are the toppings I chose:
Jelly beans, freeze dried fruit (strawberries, mangoes, bananas), shredded coconut, crumbled bacon, potato chips, granola, chopped almonds, crumbled oreo-type cookies, and candied ginger.
Honestly, my kids would’ve been even happier if I had sprinkles and more candy.
So what are you going to put on yours?
This would be such a fun activity to do on Easter as a family. Also, make sure to check the links below for other Easter recipe ideas!
#BloggersDoEaster
Spring Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette from No Spoon Necessary
Earn Serious Bunny Points, And Make Easter Basket Cupcakes from The Sweet Nerd
Mini Egg Chocolate Bundt Cake from Girl Heart Food
Maple Bacon Deviled Eggs from Beyond Mere Sustenance
Lemon Curd Pavlova from Seasons and Suppers
Blood Orange Wheat Ale Pound Cake with Blood Orange Glaze from Beer Girl Cooks
Easter Mini Egg Cookie Bars from Salt and Lavender
Ham and Cheese Scones from Kevin is Cooking
Marbled Easter Egg Truffles from Sugar Hero
Angel Food Cupcakes with Compote Filling from Meg is Well
Easter Hazelnut Meringue Layer Cake from From Scratch Mostly
Spring Green Salad with Asparagus from Seasonal Cravings
Cookie Cutter Chocolates
These cookie cutter chocolates are a great activity to do with kids! Melted chocolate is poured into cookie cutter molds and topped with all sorts of fun toppings!
Ingredients
- 1 lb chocolate of choice
- 16 cookie cutters approximately
Topping ideas
- freeze dried fruits
- sprinkles
- crumbled cookies
- bacon
- potato chips
- chopped nuts
- etc. etc. etc.!
Instructions
-
Grease each cookie cutter. Spray cooking spray onto a paper towel, and rub along the inside of each cutter.
Line a large baking sheet, or two regular sized baking sheets, with parchment paper. Place cookie cutters on parchment paper. Make sure to choose cookie cutters that have a relatively flat bottom. If it's too lopsided or bent out of shape, chocolate can leak out from the sides.
Prepare all of your toppings, and place them in small bowls around the baking sheets, so you have easy access to them all.
Place the chocolate, chopped in pieces, in a microwave safe/double boiler safe bowl. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or in the microwave in thirty second increments, stirring well after each, until melted.
When the chocolate is melted, pour about an ounce of chocolate into each cookie cutter, while holding the cookie cutter steady with the other hand. If the chocolate doesn't spread into all the corners, use a spoon to spread the chocolate out.
Immediately start topping the chocolate with the different toppings. Gently press the toppings into the chocolate to make sure it sticks.
Allow chocolate to cool and harden. You may want to place it in the fridge to help it harden quicker. Once completely hardened, gently press the chocolate around the edges and pop out of the cutter. If it doesn't come out easily, try warming the sides up with your hands, to slightly melt the chocolate.
Store in a cool place, or in the fridge in a sealed container.
Recipe Notes
The number of cookie cutters your chocolate will fill will depend on their sizes.
I advise against using cutters with lots of small angles or sharp corners, as they don't come out of the molds as easily, and may break apart.
You can easily change the amount of chocolate you use, depending on how much you want to make.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
April 10, 2017 at 7:40 amHi Alisa! Absolutely love treat like this that gets the whole family involved 🙂 They look delicious!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 8:59 amThank you Jennifer!
April Davila says
April 10, 2017 at 8:09 amI hear you on cooking with the kids. I have to be feeling patient, or else it just ends up be not fun for anyone. These looks really run and easy thought. Thanks!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 9:00 amYes, it’s all about picking the right recipe and being in the right mood!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
April 10, 2017 at 8:13 amThese are so adorable and I know my kids would love this. We are looking for activities since we are on break for a week and a half! I’m sure my kids would have the toppings piled high on these babies!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 9:07 amMine topped them so high that they weren’t sticking anymore haha. But they just picked it off the top and ate it anyways ;).
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
April 10, 2017 at 9:30 amThese chocolates are so adorable!! My husband and I only have children that walk on all 4’s, but him and I love spending time together in the kitchen… and we are both big kids at heart, so I’m thinking this is kiiiinda perfect for us! 🙂 I’m definitely passing on this link to my sister, because I know my niece and nephew would love making these! I’ll be putting ALL the toppings on mine! Cheers!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 10:54 amThanks Cheyanne! And of course, chocolate is for everyone! It’s super customizable, so adults can have fun too. I used candied ginger pieces on some of mine, which my kids did NOT like!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
April 10, 2017 at 9:55 amThese are so fun!! What a cute little project, not to mention tasty! A win win! Extra everything for me 🙂
GALINA says
April 10, 2017 at 10:12 amWhat a wonderful idea! We’ve just been making a chocolate bark with my son. I bet he’ll be happy to try this recipe next.
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 10:55 amDefinitely! Chocolate bark is such a great activity with kids :), it’s really hard for it to go wrong!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
April 10, 2017 at 10:22 amSo cute! And so much fun. I love treats that everyone can participate in creating 🙂
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 11:00 amThank you! Me too, I don’t do it enough though 😐
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
April 10, 2017 at 10:29 amThis is such a fun and cute idea! I’m sure your adorable kiddos loved making these!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 11:01 amThank you! They most definitely did!
Natasha @ Salt & Lavender says
April 10, 2017 at 10:48 amThis is actually a really good idea! I would never have thought of it myself. Fun for any age! 🙂
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 11:03 amThanks Natasha, and yes, cookie cutters have so many uses huh?
Kevin | Keviniscooking says
April 10, 2017 at 10:52 amWhat fun for the kiddos and I’d love one or three myself! 🙂
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 11:05 amHa! We thought about giving them away to neighbors, but I stuck them in a bag in the freezer and I’ve been eating it every day ;).
Meg | Meg is Well says
April 10, 2017 at 11:22 amYou had me laughing out loud! I only have to worry about my dog or my family eating my creations before I can take pictures. This looks so fun and it’s a great Easter decoration activity!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 8:40 pmThanks Meg! It was a lot of fun!
Jenny | The Baking Skillet says
April 10, 2017 at 1:27 pmThese are so cute! Its like a craft session but at the end you get delightful treats to eat!
Alisa says
April 10, 2017 at 8:36 pmThat’s a great way to put it! 🙂
Tamara says
April 11, 2017 at 2:10 pmHaving raised 4 boys in the kitchen (and all of them are fabulous cooks as adults), I enthusiastically support any activities that get little ones comfortable preparing food. This looks like so much fun, and simple enough for parents to relax a bit. Happy Easter!
Alisa says
April 11, 2017 at 3:33 pmThat’s awesome! I hope my kids will be that way! My mom was a good cook but I had zero interest, so I didn’t learn to cook until I became a stay at home mom and HAD to!
Cindy says
April 11, 2017 at 3:31 pmOh these are so fun. I love the idea of pouring them into molds. And yummy jelly beans! I am in!
Alisa says
April 11, 2017 at 3:32 pmThanks Cindy! My kids’ favorite topping was the jelly beans! Actually, I think they were my favorite too ?
Karrie says
April 11, 2017 at 8:01 pmThank you for this post. I am the same way with my kids when it comes to cooking or baking in the kitchen. I tell them, you can only be in the kitchen if you are going to clean it. But lately I have been involving my daughter more because she is 4 and getting quite skilled. This will be a fun recipe to involve the 2 year old also. Thank you!
Alisa says
April 11, 2017 at 8:10 pmYes mine are 4.5 and 2.5 and they both loved it!
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
April 17, 2017 at 12:41 amThis is such a cute idea! I have a 5-year old who would LOVE this. We’re going to try it for an upcoming weekend project!
Alisa says
April 17, 2017 at 7:18 amThanks Elizabeth! At that age, I think it would be really fun to let the kids choose what toppings to buy/prepare for it too!