Add a touch of whimsy to your Christmas treats this holiday by making Edible Santa Suit Candy Cups. You can fill them with candies, pudding, chocolate mousse, or nuts.
This has sure been a busy holiday season for me, trying to balance my chocolate making business with blogging while making sure our exchange student has a wonderful holiday experience.
In between working in the candy kitchen, we’ve taken time to go do some fun activities; we’ve decorated a gingerbread house, made caramels with friends, played bingo (I won!), shopped a lot, and even found time to see Santa.
This past Saturday we even volunteered at a parade and holiday festival then took a class and made a fleece blanket and pillow before coming home to package more chocolates. Yesterday we spent a very full day in the candy kitchen working 14 hours and will have an equally busy day today.
Whew, I’m exhausted.
Last week, during a few free hours, I had some fun experimenting in the kitchen and created some sweet treats for Christmas including these completely edible Santa Suit Candy Cups.
They can be filled with candies, as pictured, and used as party favors, or they can be filled with anything from chocolate mousse to ice cream for Christmas dessert.
Edible Santa Suit Candy Cups
Products used to make this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)
- 12 ounces melted red colored confectionery coating/candy melts
- 3 ounces melted white confectionery coating
- 3 ounces black and white modeling chocolate/candy clay
- powdered sugar to dust cutting board
- candies nuts, trail mix, dried fruit, mini cookies, chocolate mousse, pudding, ice cream, etc.
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Fill a small plastic cup with melted red candy melts.
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Let the candy filled cup sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
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Pour wet candy out of the cup, leaving just the outer shell of candy melts in the cup.
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Set cup, upside down, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
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Freeze for 4-5 minutes.
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Remove and pull candy cup out of plastic cup.
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Allow white candy melts to cool slightly.
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Brush white candy melts over the top edge of the candy cup so that it looks like fur.
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Roll out black candy clay.
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Cut into 3/8 inch by 6 inch long belts.
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Roll out white candy clay.
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Cut out small square buckles.
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Lightly brush water on the back of the candy clay buckle.
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Press the candy buckle onto a black candy clay belt.
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Brush candy melts onto the back of the candy belt.
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Immediately wrap the candy belt around a candy cup and cut off the excess.
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Fill cups with candy, trail mix, dried fruit, mini cookies, chocolate mousse, pudding, or ice cream.
Before you begin, if you don’t have experience working with confectionery coatings or modeling chocolate, read my detailed Chocolate Making Tips page (here.) If you work with pure chocolate, you can use them here instead of the confectionery coating/candy melts.
Instructions: (scroll down for video tutorial)
Allow your melted candy coating to cool enough that you can still pour it easily, but thick enough that it will coat your plastic cups with a thick layer.
If your coating is really thin, you will need to do this process twice, creating two layers of candy coating for your cups. Pour candy coating into a cup, filling it to the top.
Let it sit at room temperature for 3-5 minutes. Turn it upside down and allow the candy coating to drip out. Tap the cup a few times to help remove the excess candy coating.
Use a spatula or knife to scrape across the open edge of the cup to remove the dripping candy.
Wipe the edge of the cup clean using your finger.
Place the cup in the freezer for 4-5 minutes until your candy hardens. Do not leave the cups in longer than 5 minutes or your candy may crack.
Repeat to create as many cups as you want. You will have to re-heat your candy coating during this process to keep it at a pourable consistency.
To remove the candy cups from the plastic cups, tug on them carefully and just slide them out. If they won’t come out, push on the bottom of the cup allowing the suction to release then pull candy cup out.
If you didn’t do a great job of cleaning the edge of your candy cups, you may have to break the seal around the edge by running a small sharp knife around the edge to remove excess candy.
Allow your edible candy cups to come to room temperature before decorating.
Allow your melted white confectionery coating to cool slightly so that it thickens a bit.
Use a spatula or paint brush to frost just the top edge of each candy cup with the white candy coating. You want to create the look of fur.
Freeze the cup for 1-2 minutes after adding the fur or just let the candy air dry.
Dust a cutting board lightly with powdered sugar.
Roll out white modeling chocolate and some black modeling chocolate to 1/16″ thickness.
Cut small squares from the white (I used a small square fondant cutter in the video I used square plunger cutters) and 3/8 inch by 6 inch bands from the black using a knife or pizza wheel. Cut a smaller square out from the inside of each small white square creating a buckle.
Lightly brush some water on the back side of the buckle and attach it to the belt.
Lightly brush some melted confectionery coating on the back side of a black belt and wrap it around the middle of your candy cup, cutting off any excess modeling chocolate.
Fill with candy to use for party favors or fill them with chocolate mousse, pudding or even ice cream and serve for dessert.
You can store the Edible Santa Suit Candy Cups in an airtight container for several weeks.
UPDATE: Enjoy this new step-by-step video tutorial.
You might also like these other festive Christmas treats…
Roly Poly Santa Cake • Santa Claus Cookie Pops
Ice Cream Cone Santa Suits • Reese’s Cup Rudolph
Ice Cream Cone Santa Hats • Frosty Snowman Pretzels
Mrs. Claus Chocolate Truffle Pops • Edible Santa Suit Candy Cups
can you use the paper cups also
I would not recommend using paper cups. You won’t get a shiny finish on the candy cups. Plus they won’t easily un-mold. You’ll have to peel the paper away from the candy in order to get them out of the cups.
HELP!! I can't get the chocolate out of the cups!! I am using chocomaker red wafers.
HELP!! I have tried EVERYTHING I can not get the chocolate out of the cup!! I am using the chocomaker brand of the red wafers.
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Hi,
I have a few questions.
I have no idea what is made off , I am from Australia and have not heard of the ingredient you have listed lol. And it has no quantity to use. I would love to make this for a family get together on Boxing day (3 generations at least are coming as they do most years and this would be amazing 🙂
The candy cups are made from confectionery coating, which is like white chocolate, only it's made with oil instead of cocoa butter, and is very easy to work with. It doesn't need to be tempered like pure white chocolate does. You can use white chocolate to make these cups, as long as you temper it. Just color it red using red candy coloring.
For more information regarding this subject, see my Chocolate Making Tips page -> https://hungryhappenings.com/p/chocolate-making-tips.html
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What a fun and cute idea for the kids on Christmas!!!! I;ll try to make them for the kids party! Hope they'll be cute as yours!
I saw the Peanut Butter cup reindeer and ended up following about 10 of your boards on pinterest. I have a 4 year old grandson – who loves to help in the kitchen and was looking for ideas to make. Saw so many – I can't wait to try.
Thanks for stopping by and sticking around, Deb. I'm so glad you found my site and hope you and your grandson enjoy making some of my recipes.
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Great idea
Great idea!
I love these! They would be so cute as little grab bag gifts
so creative!!! This is awesome!
Those are awesome. I had to pin them. http://pinterest.com/jmommymom/
Super cute cups! Love them!
Love, love, LOVE! You're being featured at this week's For the Kids Friday Link Party over at SunScholars!
Thanks, Rachel! Merry Christmas 🙂
Guess Whose making santa cups for christmas? 🙂
The directions for the edible Santa cups are so easy. Love this idea!
Sheryl Conley
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays
Great idea! I want to try this, would be a great gift idea for the kids at school.
All of these things are awesome. I want to try the cups they look so cute! Great Idea's Thank you, Jessica
love those cups. wow. I bake a lot for the holidays and giveaway, white chocolate peanut butter fudge, peanut butter fudge, peppermint creme fudge, apple, and cinnamon raisin breads, I bake for 16 years aleast twice a year for our Priest and Deacons, generally bread, but for last christmas and this Christmas will be Cinnamon rolls. Wowza.
Oh my, what a lovely idea!
Thank you for sharing this at Wednesday Extravaganza – I hope I see you there again this week 🙂
Wow…simply amazing! I wish I had half of your creative thought & talent!!
So adorable Beth!
These are adorable!!!!
i'd love to win
i'd love to win
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Sweet and spicy nuts – that idea is so cute!
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So cute! Thanks for the giveaway!! sharoo1975@yahoo.com
the santa cups are so cute.
Your cups are so cute. I saw them on Lady Behind the Curtain. Would love for you to share tonight on Thursdays Treasures. Will open at 8pm
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Wonderful. Those labels would comes in handy when I make my holiday treat for my friends and family. This year I'll make them cookies and Lemon sugar scrub. 🙂
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I can't believe those are complete edible cups, what a fun idea! I'd love to tell my kid, "you can eat the cups, too!"
Those Santa cups are just the cutest!! Thanks so much for sharing the idea!
I am making homemade vanilla extract and lots of cookies for gifts this year!
Great Giveaway
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Wat a great idea well playgroup kiddies do we have something new for you gonna love making these with my lit tv let ones to thanks for the idea….
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Thanks for the giveaway!
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This cups are adorable!
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I give lots of homemade goodies, too, and long to have labels instead of the taped on index cards I use. 😉
Oh, I love these!!! How unusual–you are sure to get a reaction from people if you serve these. I usually made molded mints (out of the philadelphia cream cheese).
I "LOVE" to bake and make. Or just make homemade items,from like homemade cookies to homemade crafts.And I love all the Christmas crafts you put on Facebook !!
I like to make and give plates of homemade holiday candy at Christmas. dianecrubin@yahoo.com
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Thanks for the giveaway! I love making anything edible and try to change it up every year. Still trying to figure out this year's goodies.
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Ah, I love Bottle your Brand! Hope to win, thanks.
I would make the santa cup and put m&ms in it like you did in the pics. They are too cute.
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Thank you for this great giveaway
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YAY
You make Cristmas FUN
Thanks
Cheers
Cathy
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I'm making homemade chocolates for christmas gifts. I am allergic to dairy, so I can't use the candy melts you use. What do you recommend adding to the chocolate so it doesn't melt on your hands? I tried shortening but I don't think I added enough.
I would love to use these labels for the gift bags!
If your chocolate melts on your hands it is because it isn't tempered properly. Pure chocolate contains cocoa butter, as opposed to palm kernal oil that is used in candy melts, and it needs to be melted and tempered in order to have it set up properly. You can temper chocolates in your home kitchen, but it does take some practice to get it perfect. I have machines that temper my chocolate, so I don't consider myself an expert on tempering by hand, but there are plenty of good instructions on the internet. Adding shortening to your pure chocolate will only make it thinner and will change the flavor for the worse. I don't recommend it.
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These are really cute! They'd be great for the kids in my life.
I absolutely LOVE these Santa cups….and fast forward a few months ..these would be so cute as leprechaun cups filled with gold chocolate coins!! Thank you for sharing such fun ideas
This is such a cute idea! I may have to add these to my gifts this year as a bonus treat.
Beth, I just ADORE these!!! Can I tell you how badly I wish I could get candy melts in China right about now?!!!!! I am pinning this for future use. Amazing idea!
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OK, I don't have my glasses on … when I saw the first photo, I thought you used red Solo cups … I apologize … I should have known better! Those cups are just toooooo cute 🙂
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These are AWESOME! I honestly don't know if I have the patience to make these, but I LOVE them! So adorable. And no doubt tasty, too.
Love the giveaway, Thanks for the chance!
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oh Beth! you are just so awesome-love these cups 🙂
Those cups are so cute! I might have doubted that they would pop right out of the cups for me, but your tutorial photos are so helpful. Thank you! I would never have these done before Christmas, so I am thinking Valentine's Day – tied up with a white fondant bow and stuffed full of little pink, white and red heart shaped candies. Thanks for the chance to win the labels! I follow on email and FB!
Merry Christmas!
Going over right now to follow you on Facebook (trying to keep my name private on this) (if I win I'll share it with you 🙂
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I wish I'd seen this before my meeting earlier today. They would have been perfect!
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These cups are amazing! I always love to see what you make with candy melts!
I love those Santa cups but I am sure I'd break them trying to remove them from the plastic cup molds.
As long as the cups are thick enough they wont break. Candy coating and chocolate contracts as it cools and hardens, meaning it will pull away from the walls of the cup and should slide right out.
Oh Beth, I got the biggest smile when I saw these – super cute!! It looks like we've been thinking alike again…wait til you see what I made for the party I had! 🙂
I can't wait to see! I always look forward to your new posts.
What adorable cups!
I am so going to make these, better yet I think I will have my daughter make them to free up my time, plus she is more artistic than me so they will look better than if I did them! dianecrubin@yahoo.com
I just made some Ritz Cracker candy about 5 minutes ago to give to a teacher…would love to have had a nice label!!!
the santa hats are awesome i am so gonna try them !!
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the santa cups are awesome so gonna have to try that!!
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I am going to make these for Christmas this year! The kids will love them!
Love the Santa cups…so cute. I like to make cookies to give away. Thanks
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totally making these santa cups today, THANK YOU
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I would make hot coco in a jar to give as gifts 🙂
but wouldn’t the cup melt?
I think she’s talking about powdered hot cocoa mix not actual hot cocoa.
I love those santa cups!