Our Christmas tree was put up over the weekend (yes, we do have an artificial tree) but I just didn’t have time to decorate it. So, for days, the tree sat sadly in the corner unadorned. Last night around 10:00, although tired from a busy day in the kitchen, I brought the bins of ornaments up from the basement and got the front of the tree decorated. My husband can’t understand my need to decorate the back of the tree, but I truly do enjoy hanging all of my ornaments as each one has it’s own unique memory attached. He asked if I could tell him about my memories and was shocked that I knew exactly were each ornament came from. My Godmother/aunt has been presenting me with a special ornament every year of my life – that’s a lot of ornaments. I’ve gotten many more from friends and family over the years and I also collect ornaments from everywhere we travel. Every limb of my huge tree will have something special hung on it, as soon as I find time to finish decorating it.
My series just had to have an ornament design, so I created a beautiful silver and gold egg that I placed on top of a creamy coconut candy. To make these ornaments sparkle, I brushed gold and silver luster dust over the modeling chocolate. If you don’t have luster dust, just cut the pieces out of various colors of the modeling chocolate to create vibrant ornaments instead.
For those of you visiting for the first time and for those that haven’t read my first post in this series featuring Christmas Mouse Cookies and the post which inspired this entire series featuring Chocolate Penguin Rice Krispies Treat Pops, you might want to check them out so you know all of the basics about decorating with modeling chocolate/chocolate clay.
The recipe for the creamy coconut candy is here. Originally I used this recipe to make red, white, and blue striped stars for 4th of July. For this project, you just want to keep the coconut candy white. In the directions below, you’ll see how to create egg shaped candies using your cookie cutter. You can, of course, dip the candy in chocolate before attaching the ornament, but they are delicious all on their own.
Christmas Ornament Creamy Coconut Candies
Before you begin, if you aren’t experienced with making chocolate, read my chocolate making tutorial which includes information on types of chocolate to use, melting instructions and the recipe for modeling chocolate.
You’ll need:
white modeling chocolate, recipe here
cotton balls
food handling gloves (highly recommended to use when adding color)
powdered sugar, to dust work surface
cutting board
rolling pin
egg cookie cutter – 2″ wide by 2 1/2″ tall
small pointed oval cutters from a Makin’s Cutter Set, optional
round cookie cutter, optional
food only paint brush
knife
baking sheet or cutting board lined with parchment or wax paper
*Follow the recipe to make the Creamy Coconut Candy leaving all of it white. Refrigerate it for just 10 minutes before proceeding with the directions below to make your eggs. Each recipe will make a dozen eggs.
Instructions:
Dust a cutting board lightly with powdered sugar. Roll out the white modeling chocolate to 1/16″ of an inch. Use the egg cookie cutter to cut out the ornaments. Use a pointed oval cutter to cut out decorations for the ornament (or any shape you desire.) I used a 2 1/2″ round cutter to cut out the strips to go across each ornament. Use a knife to cut out the ornament hanger (that top piece of the ornament – I don’t really know what it is called, do you?) Use your knife to gently make some lines on the hangers being careful to not cut all the way through.
Pick up some luster dust with a cotton ball and brush it over the modeling chocolate pieces. I brushed the eggs with gold and the decorations with silver.
Attach the pieces together using water. Example, brush the back side of one of the decoration pieces lightly with water and press it onto the gold egg.
Line a baking sheet or cutting board with parchment or wax paper. Set your egg shaped cutter on the paper. Spoon some coconut candy into your egg shaped cookie cutter, completely filling the egg (you will end up with about twelve 3/4″ thick eggs. Make them thinner, if you desire.) Press down to compact the candy so that you end up with a nice firm egg. Press down on the candy while lifting up and removing the egg shaped cutter.. Immediately, while the candy is still sticky, press the modeling chocolate ornament on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and set on a serving platter. If packaging these in clear cellophane bags to give as gifts, you may want to allow the bottom of the candy to harden a bit (it will be a bit sticky, yet.) Turn the ornaments upside down on a clean baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes before packaging.
Store in an airtight container. These are delicious dipped in chocolate and would even make nice lollipops. Of course, they would be wonderful topped with any of the other holiday designs from the series. So why not make Penguin, Christmas Mouse, polar bear, Inuit Children, Santa Claus, Elves, Snowmen, Toy Soldier, Mrs. Claus, or Christmas Caroler Coconut Cream Candies this Christmas.
Up next: The final decoration in the series – adorable smiling Christmas lights atop pastries
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-Beth
Very pretty! That's cool about the real ornaments. My Mom did that for us – every year, we would get one special ornament so by the time we were grown and out on our own, we would have a set. I carried on the tradition by giving a new ornament to each of my nephews every Christmas. This is the first year one of them will have his own tree in his own apartment to hang them on. 🙂
Hi Chris,
I absolutely love the ornament tradition my Godmother started when I was born. My parents also got us lots of ornaments too, so I had a huge box when I moved out. I remember decorating my own tree for the first time and was so happy to have so many wonderful ornaments and memories. My ornament from my Godmother came in the mail today. It is a beautiful shimmering snowflake. I hung it front and center on my tree. Maybe I'll find time tonight to hang a few more.
I am sure your nephew will enjoy decorating his own tree this year and will think of you with every ornament he hangs. What a wonderful aunt you are!
That gold and silver dust makes them look so pretty!