Surprise your child's teachers or your students with personalized Chocolate Chalkboards. These school-themed treats are fun to make for back-to-school parties, teacher's appreciation gifts, and graduation.
We always made homemade gifts for our teachers at Christmas and Teacher Appreciation Week. My teachers would have loved receiving one of these edible chalkboards.
I'm excited to share this school-themed food craft project with you. The chalkboards can be made using handmade or store-bought chocolate bars. You will need to make some homemade white chocolate chalk to go with the chalkboards.
The edible chalk can be used to write special messages on your boards like, "#1 Teacher," "Thank You," or "Special Teacher."
The boards look great plain but can be decorated with a border or embellishments like a candy apple.
Ingredients
dark chocolate candy bars - You can make homemade chocolate bars or use large thick store-bought chocolate bars. The bars should be at least 5 inches long. If you use break-apart bars, be sure they are thick enough to withstand a little pressure when you write on them using the white chocolate chalk.
white compound chocolate (also known as candy melts, melting wafers, almond bark, or confectionery coating) - You will use this to make the white chocolate chalk that can be used to write on your chocolate chalkboards.
powdered sugar - If you brush powdered sugar over the chocolate bars, they will look like chalkboards that have been erased.
optional decorations - You can make borders or decorations like apples using homemade 2-ingredient modeling chocolate, taffy, or fondant.
Before you begin, read my Chocolate Making Tips for instructions on melting compound chocolate (candy melts, almond bark, melting wafers) or melting and tempering pure dark chocolate (heating and cooling to exact temperatures).
Supplies
disposable pastry bag or a zip top bag
drinking straws (don't use bendable straws with ridges, you need a smooth surface)
glass filled with a few inches of sugar
wooden skewer or long toothpick
optional: candy bar candy molds (I used a 6-½" by 4-½" rectangle mold)
If you can't find a candy bar, you can pour chocolate into a rectangle plastic container to create candy bars with a smooth surface on the top. Just make sure the container is smooth inside.
Instructions
Make homemade chocolate bars.
Melt dark confectionery coating/candy melts (or temper pure dark chocolate) and pour it into candy bar molds or a rectangular plastic container.
Freeze the chocolate for 10-20 minutes until set (refrigerate if using pure chocolate). Then un-mold the bars and let them come up to room temperature before proceeding.
Now to transform your candy bar into a chalkboard, you need to rough up the surface of the candy bar. Take a pastry brush or a paper towel and rub the bar to take away the shine of the bar. You don't want to rub so hard that you end up with indentations, just enough to dull the surface.
Make white chocolate chalk.
Pour a few inches of sugar into a glass and insert drinking straws into the sugar. Fill one straw for each chalkboard you plan to make. You'll have more than enough chalk.
Pour the white candy melts (confectionery coating) into a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 15-second bursts, stirring after each until melted.
Once melted, pour the white chocolate into a disposable pastry bag or a zip-top bag. Cut the tip off the bag.
Squeeze the white chocolate into a straw filling it completely. Repeat.
Freeze your candy-filled straws for 5-10 minutes. Set your timer. You don't want to forget them in the freezer as the candy will become sticky if left in the freezer for too long and won't come out of the straw.
Remove the white chocolate chalk from the straws.
To remove the candy from the straw, push a wooden skewer or toothpick into the straw and push the candy up and out of the straw.
If the candy won't come out, you may need to freeze it for a minute or two longer. Just don't leave it in the freezer for too long or it will stick permanently.
Break the candy chalk into pieces.
Allow the white chocolate chalk to come to room temperature before using it to write on the chalkboards.
Use the candy chalk to write a special message on your candy bars. You will break several pieces of candy chalk while writing each message. Well, I did, anyway. I found smaller pieces worked best to write on the boards but it's nice to have some longer pieces to add to the gift when packaged.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Once you've completed your writing, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the candy bar.
Use the pastry brush to brush the powdered sugar across the candy bar.
Your chalkboard now looks like it has had a lot of school lessons written and wiped away over the years.
To add a frame around your chalkboard:
Dust your work surface with some powdered sugar. Roll some brown modeling chocolate (either make modeling chocolate using milk chocolate or tint white modeling chocolate with brown candy coloring) out to ⅛" thickness. Cut into ½"-1" thick strips.
Place one strip on each of the four sides of your chalkboard, overlapping the strips at the corners. You need to cut the strips at the corners so that they match up nicely.
The easiest way to do this is to cut down through the overlapping strips at a 45-degree angle. Remove the excess modeling chocolate then gently press the two angled strips together. Repeat with all the corners.
Attach the frame to the chalkboard.
Reheat the white candy melts in the microwave on defrost for 10-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted.
Use a bit of melted candy to attach the frame pieces and a few pieces of candy chalk to the chalkboard.
Add decorations.
To make an apple, color some white modeling chocolate with red candy coloring. Pinch off about a teaspoonful and roll into a ball. Flatten and shape it into an apple shape.
Color some modeling chocolate brown to create the apple stems and some green for the leaves.
Attach decorations with melted confectionery coating/candy melts.
Package the chalkboards.
These chocolate chalkboards can be personalized for any occasion and will make great gifts for teachers, students, and faculty members.
If you are looking for more fun Back to School or Teacher Appreciation Gift ideas be sure to check out all these other amazing food craft and recipe ideas on my School & Teacher Treats Page.
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The Better Baker says
Insanely cute! I've never seen such a thing - way to go!!!
carla says
whoa sister! new reader and LOVING your stuff. thanks for the inspiration - can't wait to start playing!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thanks Carla! These chocolate chalkboards can be used for so many occasions. Have fun.
Kim3278 says
As a new reader: Your idea's are AMAZING!!! I can't wait to try a few of them. I am enjoying going through your entire blog. You have wonderful recipes and easy tutorials. I don't feel like I "can't" do these at all! Thank you!!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thank you Kim and welcome! I'm happy you like my ideas and I hope you do try some of your favorites.
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thanks everyone for all the wonderful comments. I appreciate the fact that you've left me messages:)
Anonymous says
I never leave messages on these things but...YOU ARE AWESOME!!! I am in love with this site!
Indu says
i loved it beth..but here in INdia we dont get coloured chocolates 🙁
Tanya Anurag says
Great idea. All these awesome back-to-school gifts for teachers makes me wish I was one 😀
We have a link-up party going on - Tea Time Thursdays @ Kreative Korner. I would really appreciate if you'd link up some of your awesome posts there. Hope to see you at the party.
http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/2011/08/tea-time-thursdays-2-and-features.html
Jennifer says
Totally amazing!! Wow - you are so talented!!! I featured you today in my Friday I'm In Love Favorites!
http://socialsalutations.blogspot.com/2011/08/friday-im-in-love-week-12-back-to.html
- Jenn @ Social Salutations
Trish - Sweetology101 says
amazing
I♥naptime w/ Chocolate Sundaes says
OH my goodness! This is the cutest things I've ever seen! You are so creative. I really love this! Pinning it now.xo-JamielynI ♥ Nap Time
Randi~Dukes and Duchesses says
I absolutely love those and can't wait to do them for my kiddos!
TidyMom says
This is the most clever thing I've seen in a long time!!
Thanks for linking up! I featured your post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2011/great-ideas-3/ Have a great rest of the weekend!
Sue says
So sweet! I just love it!
Michelle@ourwonderfilledlife.com says
wow you are talented, these are great!!
Haniela says
omg. this is incredible!!! what an awesome idea!
kathe says
this looks awesome bit i don't think i could do it
Susan Crabtree says
AWESOME! 🙂
The Craft-Arty Kid says
This is awesome! They look so real. It's great how the white chocolate works like real chalk
Danielle says
I wanted to let you know that I featured this recipe in my "What I bookmarked This Week" Post. Stop by and grab a button!
danielle
http://mostlyfoodandcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-i-bookmarked-this-week_18.html
alljoinin says
love this so much