Chocolate Salt Dough

You can make these delightful little essential oil diffusers and "play chocolates", just in time for Valentines Day with this chocolate salt dough recipe, inspired by the Cinnamon salt dough  recipe I posted a few years back.  This one came as a brain storm one day when I had the cocoa out. I realized I could use it to make a chocolate salt dough, very similar to the Cinnamon Salt dough.  Eureka! It worked wonderfully.  I had a lot of fun with this, by the way,  Whenever glitter and the wonderful smells of essential oils are involved, I guess fun is a sure thing for me.  These would make a cute novelty gift, something the kids would love to play with, or  fun Valentines craft and decoration.  They make great little essential oils diffusers as well; simply drip essential oils over them periodically and enjoy the smell for days.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup ground Cocoa powder

1 cup salt

1 /1/2 to 1 3/4 cup water

Essential Oils if desired.

Extra Ingredients:

Silicone Chocolate Candy and Cake molds

Cookie Cutters

Straws or Toothpicks to make holes to hang the ornaments (if desired)

Brown Craft Paint

Glue or Mod Podge

Glitter and glitter glue

Candy Pearls or sprinkles 

Paper Clips for hooks if desired

Instructions:

1. Mix together Flour, Cocoa and Salt.
2. Stir well, until completely blended
3. Add desired amount of Essential oils (10 -15 drops) to water and stir well.
4. Pour water into flour and salt mixture, stirring as you pour.  Mix until well blended,  using just enough water to make a workable dough.
5. Form, shape or cut out ornaments. 
6. For the candy ornaments, spray each candy mold with non-stick cooking spray.
7. Pinch off a piece of dough in the approximate amount needed for the mold, and roll into a smooth ball before placing into the mold (this helps create a smooth salt dough candy, with very little cracks.  
8. Place the dough balls into the molds and then press the dough ball to fill the molds and imprint the shape.
9. Turn the molds over onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray.
10. Gently ease the salt dough candies from the mold, and arrange on the cookie sheet. 
11. Bake at 300 degrees 30 minutes to 60 minutes, until the ornaments are hard.

Decorate however it suits you. I decorated in the following two basic ways:

1.  Paint with a coat of Brown Paint, allow to dry then paint with a coat of Mod Podge, allow to dry and add glitter glue, candy pearls, and more fine glitter.
2. No paint, but drip more essenetial oils over the ornament, to give it a rich dark brown color, and more delicious smell. Then finish with glitter glue, candy pearls, and fine glitter dust.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, measure the flour, salt and cocoa and mix together.

Measure out the water.

 
  Drip 10 - 15 drops essential oil into the water.

Add the water and essential oil mixture to the flour salt and cocoa mixture, stirring as you pour. Add enough water to form a well moistened (but not too sticky), dough.

Knead until the dough is well blended and moist, but not sticky.  If needed you can add more flour or water.

Prepare the silicone candy or cake molds by spraying with a non-stick cooking spray.  Pinch off an approximate amount needed to fill each mold, and roll into a smooth round ball.

Place the balls of dough into the molds, and smash evenly to fill the mold.

Turn candy molds onto a lined cookie sheet, and gently ease out the salt dough candies.

Place Chocolate salt dough shapes into the oven (pre-heated at 350 degrees)  and bake 30 -  60 minutes, until hard.  

Warning, your family will think you have just made brownies or fudge just for them and may be very disappointed when they find out these are not edible.  I would suggest warning the family ahead of time, to ward off disappointment.  I know this from experience.

Decorate

   

Use Brown Craft Paint, Mod Podge, Candy Sprinkles, Glitter Glue, Glitter and anything that seems good to you.

Have Fun!