Valentine's Day Chocolate Seal Stamps

Baking is like therapy for me, and it always makes me happy when one of my kids wants to help. It's good quality time and I love teaching them and watching them in action. I always start with easy things for them to do, like measuring ingredients {with my help}, pouring those ingredients into the bowl, and mixing. And all the messes that come with it are the good kind of messes.

Ems is definitely my helper in the kitchen. Andy used to be, but he's 8 now and you know what that means -- it's not so cool anymore.

Anyway, to get to today's post, I recently learned that seal stamps are for more than just wax -- they are for chocolate too! Melted chocolate that is. In my search for an original Valentine's day project, I stumbled upon this activity. And it would be perfect to make these chocolate stamps with the kids! Think Valentine's Day goodie bags for school.

And although this activity seemed a bit intimating to do, it was easier than I expected, once I got the hang of it, of course. The key was to have my seal stamps be really cold. I started by dipping them in cold ice water, but realized that wasn't chilling the stamps enough. So into the freezer this water bowl went along with the stamps. And then the process was so simple. Follow the steps below.

1. Melt 2/3 cups chocolate chips in a double boiler. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips.

2. Let the melted chocolate stand 5 minutes or until it's barely warm to the touch. Tip: It's important the chocolate is not too hot when you make an impression with the stamp. The heat from the chocolate will warm the metal stamp and it will cause the chocolate to smear.

3. Place metal wax seal stamps in the cup filled with crushed ice. The stamp bottoms need to be thoroughly chilled. For this, I placed a bowl of water and ice in the freezer and let the stamps chill, about 3 minutes. Tip: You'll need to repeat this step every fourth chocolate impression you make to chill the stamp again.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop dime-sized amounts of chocolate onto the parchment paper. Let the chocolate set for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove a stamp from the ice and quickly wipe it free of water droplets with a towel. Place the stamp onto a mound of chocolate, press down gently then release. Let the stamp stand pressed in the chocolate for 5-10 seconds. Press down again very gently, but firmly once more before you lift the stamp. You should be left with a clear impression in the chocolate.

6. Replace metal wax stamp into your bowl in the freezer until it is thoroughly chilled {about 3 minutes} and repeat with remaining melted chocolate. Tip: Each time you chill your stamps, work no more than 5 impressions at a time.

7. Refrigerate finished chocolate seals until firm.

8. Use the chocolate stamps to decorate cupcakes, cookies, or insert in Valentine's Day goodie bags.

Get your kids involved and have fun with this Valentine's Day activity!

The kids are off from school today so we're heading out to enjoy the day.

Happy Monday!

shop the post