(NEWSnet) — This time around on Jill of All Trades, I show you how to make an easy candy garnish for desserts. You could make these for nearly any occasion.  I made mine heart-shaped, since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

First, I started with some candy melts.  You candy find them in craft stores, candy/baking supply stores and many big box retailers.  I chose red and pink to fit my Valentine’s theme, but you can find them in many colors.

Put a handful of the melts in a Ziploc bag and seal it up.  Fill a large measuring cup or comparable bowl with boiling water. Drop the bag of candy in it and let it sit, for a minute or two, until all the candy is melted. 

While you’re waiting for the candy to melt, put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Place your cookie sheet on top of ice packs or freezer packs to start chilling it.

Pull your candy Ziplocs from the hot water and work the melted candy into one of the bottom corners of the bag.  Cut one tiny corner off the bottom corner of the bag where the candy is.  Now, use that bag like a pastry bag to draw whatever shapes you want.  You might want to add zig-zag lines to your pieces to strengthen them a bit.  You could even just make free-form squiggly shapes.  Or, you could write out a message in script.

Set them aside and let them harden.  When they have firmed up, gently lift them off of your tray.  Now, you can set them atop some ice cream, top a cake with them, garnish a cheesecake, etc.  Use your imagination and get creative.

Now, let’s make it even easier.  I bought a dark chocolate candy bar in a plastic wrapper and put that in straight into the hot water, still in the wrapper.  I waited a minute or two for it to melt, squeezed it to one end of the wrapper, and cut a tiny bit of one corner off.

I used it the same way, like a pastry bag, and drew out decorative chocolate hearts with it.  I waited a few minutes for them to harden up and lifted them off.  It worked great and I added them to ice cream sundaes.

These would be fun to make with kids, too, as long as you can supervise them around the hot water.

It’s such a simple little trick to make these garnishes and they can make a dessert look really special… for your someone special.

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