What Are Chocolate candies and How Can I Use Them?
Chocolate candies is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 21 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- "Chocolate candies" is a category of small ready-made sweets, not one product.
- Candy-coated pieces hold shape and color in the oven where plain chips smear.
- Press them in at the end; stirring early cracks and bleeds the coating.
- Do not melt loose candies for a sauce; their shells and fillings stay grainy.
- Store cool, dry, and sealed near 65°F (18°C); skip the humid fridge.
What are chocolate candies?
"Chocolate candies" is a loose term for small ready-made chocolate sweets: candy-coated pieces, foil-wrapped drops, chocolate-covered nuts, and the assorted bits you fold into cookies or pile onto a dessert. It is a category, not one product, so what the recipe wants depends entirely on the dish.
Most recipes use chocolate candies for fun rather than structure. They get pressed onto cookies, scattered over a Chocolate Dessert Fondue spread, or stirred into a no-bake mix for color and crunch.
The candy-coated kind is the most common in baking. The hard sugar shell keeps the chocolate from melting flat, which is why they hold their shape and color in M&M Cookies while plain chips would smear.
Working With Them
Fold or press candies in at the very end, after the dough is mixed. Stir them in early and they crack and bleed color into the batter.
Keep them off heat where you can. Candy-coated pieces survive a quick bake, but foil-wrapped drops and chocolate-covered nuts are best added after baking, since their plain chocolate melts and their fillings turn greasy.
Do not try to melt them down for a sauce. Loose candies carry sugar shells and fillings that never melt smooth, so reach for plain chocolate instead.
Buying and Storing
Buy the specific candy the recipe names when color or shape matters, since a generic bag of mixed chocolates will not give you the same look. Check the date, because the nuts and fillings inside go stale before the chocolate does.
Store chocolate candies cool and dry in a sealed jar, around 65°F (18°C), away from strong smells. Skip the fridge, where damp air leaves a dull bloom.
That whitish film is harmless, not mold. Candy-coated colors can streak in humidity too, so the pantry is the safest spot.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 巧克力糖果
- British (UK) term
- Chocolate candies
- en français
- bonbons au chocolat
- en español
- dulces de chocolate
Recipes using chocolate candies
There are 21 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Homemade Sweet Square
Homemade sweet squares, chewy cornstarch-set candy in the style of Turkish delight, flavored with pineapple and cinnamon, dotted with candied fruit, and topped with chocolate candies. A fun treat for kids.
Goblin Goodies
Goblin Goodies oatmeal cookies with orange zest, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and orange and brown chocolate candies. A festive Halloween drop cookie loaded with mix-ins.
Black Licorice Chocolate Spiders
Black licorice chocolate spiders are a 2-ingredient Halloween treat. Twizzler legs and melted chocolate form creepy little spiders kids can make themselves. No baking required.
Creepy Critters
No-bake Halloween spider cookies made by stacking peppermint patties on butter cookies, then piping frosting legs and candy eyes. A spooky craft kids can eat!
Cookie Candy Turkeys
Cookie candy turkeys assemble chocolate stars, caramels, striped chocolate cookies, and candy corn into adorable no-bake Thanksgiving favors. Kid-friendly craft dessert ready in 20 minutes.
Easter Egg Nests
Easter egg nests made with chocolate-coated chow mein noodles shaped into bird's nests and filled with jelly beans. A no-bake Easter treat kids can help make.
Rice Trail Mix
Rice cereal trail mix with crispy rice chocolate bars, banana chips, roasted peanuts, chocolate candies, and raisins. A no-cook, kid-friendly snack mix that stores well in an airtight container.
Fudge Drops
Fudge drops made with melted milk chocolate, granola cereal, and salted peanuts. A 10-minute no-bake candy that only needs a microwave and 3 ingredients.
Concentration Candy Cookies
Concentration candy cookies: brown sugar-pecan cookies topped with matched pairs of colored candy-coated chocolates. A clever kids' memory-match game cookie for parties.
Snack: Perky Party Mix
No-bake party mix with chocolate candies, pretzel sticks, cheese crackers, and raisins. Five minutes, four ingredients, 8 cups of sweet-salty snacking for any crowd.
Oatmeal Pumkin Cookies
Oatmeal pumpkin cookies fold pumpkin puree, rolled oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts into a cinnamon-spiced dough. Drizzle with lemon glaze or top with chocolate candies. Makes 96.
Oatmeal Chocolate Candy Cookies
Giant oatmeal chocolate candy cookies with chocolate candies, salted peanuts, and quick oats in a chewy brown sugar dough. Scooped by the quarter-cup for bakery-sized cookies.
Holiday Double Chocolate Cookies
Double chocolate cookies studded with candy-coated chocolate pieces, perfect for holiday cookie trays. Rich cocoa dough baked soft and chewy with colorful candy pressed on top.
Chocolate Dessert Fondue
Slow cooker chocolate fondue with chocolate almond candy bars, marshmallows, and whipping cream. Stays warm and glossy for hours of dipping without scorching. Five ingredients, no babysitting.
Halloween Chocolate Haystack Spiders
Crispy chow mein noodles coated in melted chocolate and shaped into spooky spider clusters. These no-bake Halloween treats take just 15 minutes to make.
Frosty Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie
No-bake pumpkin ice cream pie in a graham cracker crust with vanilla ice cream, pumpkin puree, and warm spices. A frozen Thanksgiving dessert that takes minutes to assemble and tastes like fall in every bite.
Peanut Butter Crispies
No-bake peanut butter crispy rice treats made with brown sugar, corn syrup, and crisp rice cereal. Four ingredients, no oven needed, and ready to cut into squares once cooled.
Brown Nugget Dessert
A no-bake icebox cake layering sliced pound cake with a chocolate-fig mousse made from butter, cocoa, dried California figs, and fluffy egg whites, then crowned with fresh whipped cream.
M&M Cookies
Classic M&M cookies with a buttery brown sugar dough, optional chopped nuts, and a generous 18 ounces of candy-coated chocolates. Soft, chewy, and colorful right out of the oven.
Squashed Frogs for Halloween
Make these easy and delicious squashed frogs for your kids at Halloween, everyone will love these green frogs.
