My Only Recipe Book

How to melt chocolate
Please note that melting chocolate is not the same as tempering chocolate. Tempered chocolate has been subject to certain temperatures and techniques that alter its chemistry. Tempering produces the texture and sheen we expect from fine chocolate candies. To temper chocolate, consult a candy cookbook.

The enemy of melted chocolate is water. Even a hot and humid day can ruin your efforts. Be absolutely sure that hands, utensils, bowls, surfaces - everything that comes in contact with the warm liquid chocolate - are bone dry. One drop of water in warm melted chocolate will cause it to seize (bind, clump and turn grayish in color).

The second nastiest enemy of chocolate is too high heat. It's so easy to scorch! No matter what method you choose to melt chocolate, use patience. Do not take shortcuts.

Microwave Method: Place chocolate (and shortening if you're making candy coating) in a small, deep microwavable bowl. Use a 50% power setting. Nuke in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. The chocolate will keep its shape even when melted, so stirring is important. Reduce nuke time to 10 seconds if you suspect chocolate is close to being melted. Alternatively, just let it sit for a minute or two to complete the melting process.

Foolproof Double Boiler Stovetop Method: This method takes more time, but there is actually less for you do than if using the microwave method. And it sure beats the more common stovetop method which calls for simmering the water and invites water droplets to settle in your chocolate! Fill a saucepan with water up to the point that the double boiler bowl would rest its bottom in the water when put in place. Put the lid on the pan and bring the water to a full boil. Remove the lid and don't even think of using it again. Turn off the heat. Place the double boiler bowl filled with chocolate (and grease if you're making chocolate candy coating) on top of the boiled water and set the timer for 25 minutes. Go away. Come back when the buzzer goes off and carefully stir the chocolate. If it still has a way to go, turn the burner on warm or low to help it along. When the chocolate has melted, carefully remove the bowl of chocolate and wipe off the bottom of it with a dry dishtowel. You're now ready to make that chocolate treat.

How to dip candy in chocolate coating
Don't even think of making chocolate dipped candies on a hot and humid day. See notes above on melting chocolate and moisture.

To create a chocolate coating of manageable consistency for candies and other treats, add shortening, peanut or vegetable oil in a ratio of 1 tablespoon grease to 6 - 8 ounces of solid chocolate and melt them together (see tips on melting chocolate above). Food grade canning wax may also be used (To find Coconut Creme Eggs, go to our Recipes page and click on the Desserts button.) The wax method creates the best consistency for dipping and the loveliest luster, but then you are eating a small portion of wax!

Special candy coating chocolate ("couverture") is available commercially. While the chocolate available in the supermarket is both economical and easy to find, you may enjoy experimenting with "professional grade" chocolate next time around.

Do not use butter or margarine in your coating mixture. Butter, particularly American butter, contains water. (Joy's Note: If you're doubtful, wring out a stick like a washcloth and watch the water drip out. I discovered this in the process of making brioche and croissant years ago.) All margarine is not created equal - don't trust it. A Hershey cookbook says even oil can contain some moisture and to use only shortening - our tests were successful with oil, but, admittedly, oil from a freshly opened bottle.

Melted chocolate may also be brushed on a candy center with a pastry brush. Think chocolate paint! Two or three coats may be needed.

Once your candy is coated and resting on the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off extra chocolate. Small, tight circular motions may also help to remove excess chocolate.

How to use "Baking Pan Liner Paper, A.K.A. Baking Parchment
"This is paper that is coated on both sides with silicone, which prevents cookies from sticking. It also controls the cookies' shapes (if you butter the cookie sheets, the cookies might run out and be too thin on the edges). These are the reasons I use it. But also, I don't object to the fact that I hardly ever have to wash a cookie sheet. And if I have too many sheets of cookies, I prepare the cookies all at once on pieces of baking pan liner paper, and then just slide a cookie sheet under the paper, and it's OK if the sheet is still hot.

In many or most of these recipes [Maida's] the directions say to line the sheets with baking pan liner paper or aluminum foil. Aluminum foil usually does almost the same thing that the paper does.

The baking pan liner paper comes on a roll like wax paper and is generally available in kitchen shops and hardware stores. It also comes in very large sheets in a big box available at wholesale paper companies and wholesale baker supply stores. I bought a box about ten years ago and I recently used the last sheet and had to buy another box. Unless you have a bakery, or unless you write cookie books, a box might be more than you want. But it's such great stuff, it's worth trying to find someone (or some two or three or more) to share it with.

The large sheets are twice as large as most cookies sheets. I work with ten or twenty pieces of it. I fold them in half, and then with a large, heavy, sharp knife, cut through the fold. I then have enough for several days of baking.

If you do a lot of cookie baking, try to get the large box. You'll love it."

Cookie cutters
"Cutters should be sharp, with no rough edges. If the cutter sticks to the dough, dip it in flour each time you use it. Always start cutting at the edge of the rolled-out dough and work toward the center, cutting the cookies as close to each other as possible."

Cookie Jars
"Cookie jars should be airtight. Many of the charming and artistic colorful ones I have seen are not. Glass jars with ground glass around the rim and the cover are airtight. Some plastic or glass jars with a rubber ring around the top are also airtight. But if I have a choice, I use Rubbermaid containers--these are airtight for sure."