The thought of melted chocolate on anything my heart desires makes me go all googley eyed. Yes, I’m a chocolate fanatic. In fact, I went to a brunch last year where a free flowing dessert fountain oozed with an abundance of melted chocolate that could spark the envy of Willy Wonka. I was tempted to jump in and swim in a pool of chocolate, but I behaved myself and acted like a grown up. Instead I opted to make a cozy little seat at the rim of the basin and eat until my heart was content. As I sat at the edge of the fountain reaching over to dip my strawberries and marshmallows, I thought to myself “If only I could have a small portion of this melted chocolate to dip whenever I wanted. Oh that would be such giddy fun!” I imagined all the spectacular  projects I could do with my son, or how decorative the snacks would be at my next party. 

It seems Wilton has granted me my wishes, because they now have this amazing little pot to melt your chocolate melts in: Wilton Candy Melts™ Candy Melting Pot.  You choose the flavor, add them to the silicone lined pot, and let them melt. What you choose to dip or drizzle is up to you. Plus Wilton has the coolest tools to help make the whole dipping process a lot easier. Here’s the cool part, when your done, all you have to do is let the chocolate cool completely in the fridge, then pop it out of the silicone lined pot… So easy, and more importantly there is very little mess if any at all.

A few weeks ago my friend Ericka from Nibbles and Feasts hosted a “dip and drizzle” party here at my house, and invited over a handful of delicious friends: Wilton candy melts, pretzels, strawberries, marshmallows, cookies, potato chips, Wilton Candy Melts™ Candy Melting Pots, and a bunch of blogger friends. We had such a swell time dipping and drizzling, and of course the snacks were gone before we could even let them set and harden. Here are a few pictures from the party. Oh, and do yourself a favor…. melt some chocolate and dip away. 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Wilton. However all opinions are my own.

Sometimes, just sometimes life hands over a project that is usually hard and makes it so simple you have to do it.  Allow me to start by saying I have been making gingerbread house every year since me and my fiance got together. Initially (over 11 years ago) I had started by doing the whole thing from scratch, but for some reason one of the walls wouldn’t fit perfectly or it would crack. Then a few years later I found a kit where all the pieces came in the box, and you could assemble the house when you got home with a little help from some royal icing. This year I was strolling around Walmart buying some supplies for some posts among other things, and saw a mountain of gingerbread houses for sale. These were no ordinary gingerbread houses….. these were pre-assembled for you. I quickly threw an arm full of boxes in the cart and said to my fiance…. we have to make a few  gingerbread houses now. Then I tilted my head to the candy isle to go find some supplies to further decorate my house. YES, the box comes with candy and royal icing in it, but I wanted to get a little more fancy with it. Can I just say WALMART has the BEST candy isle EVER! I love all the holiday candy they carry. Among the chocolates and chewy fruit candies I found a cute peppermint candy tree (It was only $1.50, I don’t know why I didn’t buy more) … I knew it was going to look fabulous in front of my gingerbread house.

Tips for making a gingerbread house:

• Construct on a plate or dish that the house will live on. That way you can move it around during the holidays to fit your needs.
• I like to use cereal (frosted mini wheats) as the roof.
• Break to candy canes together to form a heart, then place them on a piece of wax paper and bake for 3 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit. Then peel the hearts off and use them as you wish. I used mine as a huge window this year.
• If you make several you can give them away as centerpieces for the holidays. Or take it with you to a holiday party as a gift for the host.
• I sometimes put a round mirror in the front of the house to create an illusion of a  frozen patch of water.
• I cover the plate in shredded coconut to make it look like a snow covered ground.
• Cut pieces of candy to fit the length of the roof or walls.
• Choose a color theme and buy the kind of candy that will help accomplish the look you want.

Here is a little instagram of my finished gingerbread house: