How to make personalised candy bars with Almonds & Caramel filling

Last year I tried to make candy bars, just plain melt and pour ones but it did not turn out as expected. I did not want to give up because I have seen many people do it and it looks so simple to make. I was wondering where I went wrong and finally I guessed it may be due to microwaving of chocolate. So, this year, with an additional twist of personalization I am going to show how to make personalised candy bars with almond/caramel filling (Yum! Yum!). Lets get started.  

Supplies :

Chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Milk chocolate chips)

Double boiler ( I used a pan and snuggly fitting bowl on top)

Chocolate mold

Almonds

Caramels (I used Werther's original Chewy caramel)

A tsp of milk 

Spatula

Toothpick 

A new paint brush

Edible color mist

Stencils of your choice

Step 1:  Fill the bottom pan of the double boiler with water and bring it boil. Switch off the flame. Place the top pan and pour the required amount of chocolate chips. Use spatula and slowly stir them around until the chocolate is melted smooth and shiny. 

Step 2: Now fill the mold with a thin layer of chocolate and use the paint brush to paint the chocolate on the corners of the mold to create a bowl for almonds or caramel filling. If you are doing plain chocolate bars, you can just fill the mold with desired thickness of the chocolate and follow the next step. Once you are done, bang the mold on the counter top or table(Wherever you are working) several times to release the air bubbles formed. Use a tooth pick to burst any bubbles and go around the corners of the mold to ensure there are no air bubbles. Allow the chocolate layer to freeze.

Step 3: Now prepare the almonds and caramel filling. To roast the almonds , Take a cup of almonds in a baking tray.Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the tray for 10 mins. Take the almonds out and give it a mix and put it inside the oven for 10 more minutes. You will now start to feel the smell of roasted almonds. You can take it out at this moment or allow it for 5 more minutes if you want. But be careful not to burn. Once it is cooled down, use a knife to chop them into pieces. Don't use blender to break the almonds into pieces . It will not work (Believe me! May be you will get almond flour ;) ).

For the caramel filling, take the 6 to 7 pieces of caramel (For 2 candy bars) and add a tsp of milk to it and microwave it in 30 seconds intervals. It took only 30 seconds for me but it may vary depending on your microwave. Mix it well for the goey caramel filling. I made a mistake here, I added too much of milk to melt caramel so I ended up with the thin consistency of caramel which started to come out of the chocolate bars. So take care while you do this. Add more milk(I mean more than a tsp) only if you want.

Step 4 : Take the mold out of the fridge and now it is time to fill the almonds and caramel. I decided to fill two candy bars with almonds. One with caramel and one with a combination of both. I went little over board while filling the caramel. As I said in the earlier step, the consistency of the caramel was runny and also I filled it till the edges. So be careful while you do this, don't fill it till the edges.The filling should always be within the chocolate bowl to avoid caramel explosion later (You know what I mean, right? ). 

Step 5: Now melt another batch of chocolate chips, and pour it on the top of the candy bars to seal the filling. 

Step 6: Allow the candy bars to set in the fridge and once it is done. Remove them from the mold.

Step 7: Now comes the fun part of decorating the candy bars. Take the stencil and place it on the top of the candy bar, cover the remaining  candy bars with the paper towel. Spray the edible color mist (I used wilton gold color mist) in a swing motion for the design to transfer on the candy bars. I created my stencils with electronic die cutting machine. You can make them if you have one or use a craft knife and cardstock to create your own. I also used a snowflake punch to create stencil for two candy bars. I used the snowflakes itself for the hexagon one and the negative space as a template for the rectangle one.(Isn't it amazing?) Allow it to dry for sometime and then wrap them in plastic wrap to gift it to your family and friends.

What do you think? These personalized candy bars make a perfect place card for your holiday table. If you try these, what filling you prefer? Also make sure you select good quality of chocolate chips to make your candy bars. I would say I liked the Ghirardelli milk chocolate best(Not sponsored) compared to all the previous chocolate chips I have used. If you haven't tried those for any reason, I would say do try them. Share what you think about these candy bars in the comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you.