Gisela Graham Christmas Decoration - Candy Cane Heart Decoration

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Melt the chocolate: To melt the chocolate, use the double boiler method or do the following. Add chocolate to a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10-second increments until just softened—the chocolate will continue to melt a bit after heating, be careful not to overheat. Stir in between heating increments, until smooth. For even more candy cane or heart-shaped activities, then why not try our Candy Cane Wreath?You will notice how the candy canes when glued together make a heart shape. Here I used a pretty box from a set of 4×6 notecards to hold the peppermint bark hearts. The tag fits perfectly over top. Don’t you just love it when things come together that nicely? This was repeated with the rest of the hearts. You can also use a spoon to pour some chocolate on the joints of the heart if you want to be more thorough. I ended up adding some chocolate to a couple to make sure they stayed together.

It’s okay if not every candy cane matches perfectly. Just move the candy canes around until you find two that make a pretty heart. 🔑 Key to Success #2 – Melt the Almond Bark and Stir Well Or if you wait another month or two, you can tie a little red ribbon around them, and give out heart pop valentines. Immediately after removing the candy from the oven, pinch any open ends together to create a closed heart shape.

Place your baking paper on your baking sheet and arrange the candy canes into heart shapes. The mini candy canes are the right size for this, but if you’re using larger ones you can trim them down if you need to. Stop microwaving when there are a few small solid pieces in the chocolate, and stir until the remaining solids melt. Make sure you take the plastic off the candy canes first. Place your candy canes on a silicon baking mat on a baking pan or with a pan that has vegetable spray. I arranged them how I wanted them to look when they were done, but they do come out soft and you can mold them later. Set your oven to 250 degrees and cook them for 10 minutes. Right out of the oven they should be playable and easy to mold, caution – they may be warm/hot to the touch. I was easily able to mold them however I wanted. I smooshed the bottoms together and the tops together. I let them cool, placing them in my fridge for faster cooling. Now you can eat them, give them as gifts, or use them as decorations for this Valentine’s Day. They would be cute hanging with a red ribbon. The pieces may not all sit on your sheet in the same way. For example, one piece may fall to the side. This is fine.

While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle a few bits of the crushed candy cane on top for a pretty effect. But what hasn’t changed is that every time I’ve made candy cane hearts with chocolate, the kids go completely bonkers with anticipation. I can’t tell you how many times I had to say ‘not yet’ when photographing these cuties. This is a great way to use up all the extra candy canes that are left over from the Christmas holiday. My neighbor shared this great idea for forming two candy canes into one big heart. It’s perfect for Valentines.To make swirled bark, drop alternating spoonfuls of white and dark chocolate coating inside the candy cane heart. Again, you don’t have to fill the chocolate to the top of the heart, so a single layer of white and dark chocolate inside should be fine. If at any point the candy canes get too cool and become too difficult to shape, return them to the oven to soften for a few additional minutes. Once all of the hearts are formed, let them cool completely at room temperature before proceeding. Bring the mixture to about 150 C (145-150 depending on the humidity in your kitchen), take off the heat and add your flavour.

Arrange candy canes on the prepared baking sheet so that the ends are touching and create a loose heart shape.Once the chocolate was melted, I was able to use a spoon to fill the hearts. You’ll want to spread the chocolate around to make sure you fill the entire thing. While the coating is still wet, top the bark with a generous sprinkle of candy cane pieces all over the top of the heart. Place a heat-safe bowl over the top of the saucepan. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Depending on the type of your peppermint flavour you might need to add 1-2 teaspoons of the extract. I’ve added 2 teaspoons and the flavour was fairly minty, but not overpowering.