Filled Chocolate Candies

The other day I was looking for a plastic container in the upper shelves of the kitchen cabinet and found my candy molds. I haven't used these molds in maybe 2 or 3 years, they have yellowed a bit. I bought them 8 years ago when I was into candy making. One Christmas I made the Santa Claus, Christmas tree and ribboned gift molds, each one painted the appropriate color. They are tedious to make and it only takes a second to eat them. ;-)

So, I put the non-holiday molds to use and the one that is very yellow and brittle cracked after unmolding, I had to throw it away, time to buy new molds. Anyway, I filled them with soft very tart lemon fondant, candied figs, pb & j, and plain crunchy peanut butter. I used extra dark chocolate and they are super delicious! My favorite is the pb & j. You can learn how to temper chocolates here. It's not really that complicated, give it a few tries until you perfect it. You can experiment with milk chocolate first (which I prefer with the candied figs), then with really dark chocolate. Next time I will fill them with other unusual flavors like cayenne pepper, burnt sugar, cacao nibs, ground espresso coffee, and hard sponge candy (Crunchies in Australia).

crunchy peanut butter filling

peanut butter & grape jelly filling

soft super lemon fondant filling
candied fig filling

I think after eating non-stop all the yummy ice cream and now chocolate candies, it's time to hit the treadmill because my skirts are getting just a little bit too tight.:D

Figs!

I love figs and this is the third time I'm writing about them. My favorite is the Italian honey, which I was told earlier today by a produce employee at Wegmans, are the calimyrna variety. I don't think they are one and the same, but they do look alike. However, they are are not yet available this week, they will be in stores in late July or early August. The ones pictured here are the California mission figs. They are also good by themselves when fully ripe or well-chilled and drizzled with honey. I candied a few pieces, it takes 3 days including drying time, and they are fantastic! I do believe this is the fruit Eve defied God for, they're worth it.;D

perfect with the best honey

candied figs