How long have you been making kits?
We've been selling chocolate kits since 1992.

What are chocolate craft kits?
We created kits with everything you need to put together chocolate decorations and centerpieces. Before we came along, only professionals were able to enjoy this fun activity. We have two types of chocolate kits, tempered chocolate – hard, pieces of couverture, the highest quality of chocolate, ready to put together into a shape, and soft chocolate "clay" or modeling chocolate, which is couverture chocolate with an invert syrup added to make it soft and pliable.

How long do they last? How do you store the kits and the finished products?
The chocolate kits or finished crafts should be stored in a cool, dry area below 80°, 60 – 70° is best. If properly stored the kits are good for a minimum of 6 months and up to a year. They are made of chocolate and should be handled like any other chocolate candy.

Can you eat them?
All of the kit parts are edible and delicious. We use very high quality all cocoa butter chocolate called couverture, which is the standard for truffles and expensive candy.

How long will it take to put a kit together?
The house has the most pieces and usually takes between one-half hour and and one hour to put together before adding decorations.

How does the kit come? Are the pieces fragile?
We pack the chocolate pieces with bubble wrap and candy paper to keep it in good shape. When it arrives, unpack the pieces carefully as they are fragile. If you drop them they may break. Modeling chocolate is not fragile but eventually will dry out. It will keep for at least nine months if stored air tight in a cool place. We vacuum seal the modeling chocolate to keep it fresh.

Doesn't the chocolate melt?
Yes, this is real chocolate and, like any chocolate candy will melt if it is a warm place like direct sunlight or a hot car. If you have very warm hands it may melt when if you hold a piece for several minutes but construction should be fine.

My modeling chocolate gets warm and soft. What can I do?
If possible, work on a cool surface like marble or granite. Minimize contact with warm hands. Use the tools that come with the kit to roll and cut designs. When shaping figures with modeling chocolate work in stages, allowing time for the chocolate to cool down between steps. An ice pack to cool your hands can be helpful.

In general, minimize contact with the chocolate. Wearing kitchen gloves may help, but mostly don't hold things in your hands until you are ready for action, try to be gentle and precise, and allow for some practice.

What if I break a house or box piece?
If pieces are broken, put them together like a puzzle: flat, face down on non-stick paper, and fill in any breaks or cracks with the candy "glue".

What are the candy tubes? What can I do with them?
The candy tubes are made of sugar, fats, and flavor called candy coating. When the tube is warmed in hot water the fat melts and the candy softens. When the candy cools the fat hardens and the candy firms up like chocolate.

You can use the tubes as an edible "glue" to hold your kit pieces together or to make decorations. Squeeze the melted candy out of the tube onto non-stick paper and let the shape harden, You can make flowers, wreaths, designs, or write words. The "artist" can even pipe flat pieces of a tree or a sled and then stick them together with more melted "glue" to create three-dimensional decorations. You can find more information and tips on the idea page.

I need more candy glue, what do I do?
You can order more tubes, wait for them to come and then finish your project, or you can use a different edible "glue" like royal icing or chocolate. You can find the royal icing recipe on the gingerbread house pdf on the recipes and ideas page. Royal icing takes a few hours to harden so you should wait for one part of the project to set before attaching more pieces. Alternatively, use cool, melted chocolate chips to attach pieces.

What if I don't get the pieces put together evenly?
It's fine if the pieces are a little bit crooked; there is some room for variations in angles in the engineering of the kit. If you end up placing some of the pieces so the rest are difficult to fit in, you can trim the chocolate with a serrated knife and gentle, sawing motion or by using a barely warm-to-the-touch knife to melt the edge. Either way, be very careful or the piece will break and you will need to "glue" it together with the candy tube.

Why are there feet in the candy box kit? How are they used?
The feet are included to provide a base for the box to stand on. It adds a more elegant appearance and also makes the box easier to lift and move. If you don't want to put them on you can just eat them or even use them creatively as decorations!

How tall is the house?
The house is 7" tall.

What are the patterns on some of the pieces?
The chocolate pieces are hand colored and decorated with white chocolate and sometimes luster dust, which is edible glaze. Variations are a normal part of the process.

What should I use for decorations?
You can use our products like modeling chocolate and candies, or choose your own favorites like small candies, marshmallows, cookies and popcorn.

What are natural food colors?
Our natural food colors are made for us by one of the world's most respected manufacturers. We sell only the colors made from vegetable juices. Because they are made from real plants and not from chemicals, the colors may change when you combine them with icings and batters or if you heat them. Very acidic foods change the colors the most. For example, putting natural green color into an acidic key lime pie mix would most likely turn the green color more yellow. If you put the pink color into cake batter and then bake it, the color will take a grey tone.

Will I have to temper the chocolate?
The chocolate pieces are ready to be used as is. Any pieces that require tempering are already done for you.

What is tempering?
Tempering is a process that results in proper crystal structure of the chocolate and makes it strong and shiny.

What differences are there between versions of the same kit?
The biggest difference is between the white and dark chocolate candy box kits. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter without cocoa solids. It contains more sugar and is softer than dark chocolate. Dark chocolate couverture will make the strongest decorations, which is why we don't make the houses in solid white chocolate. White chocolate works for the candy box because it is not as tall. Other decorative variations only impact the outside appearance and look of the item.

Do you have to have professional experience to use them?
Our kits are made to be used by non-professionals of all ages, with adult supervision recommended for children under 8. Professionals do use our kits because it saves them time and mess and is so much fun.

I don't think I'm creative enough to use them
In our experience, everyone is able to build our kits and have fun with them.

Links to some of our favorite sites:
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