How to Make Edible Modeling Clay

Ingredients: 

Bag of candy melts 

Quarter-cup of light corn syrup 

Molds, cookie cutters, skewers, or other supplies

Who are these people that sit around and melt this, stir in that, and come up with incredible new baked things? They must be geniuses, that's all I know. But I'm thrilled to know that those people are out there, especially the person who invented candy clay. Now, anyone - even you - can make fancy flowers, hearts, stars, and other shapes, and it's all edible! Put the shapes on cakes and cupcakes, brownies, pies, and other desserts. Or, serve the candy by itself. Let's experiment, okay?

It's so easy to make candy clay that you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it for years now. You'll start out with candy melts and simply melt them in the microwave. White is a good choice, because you can mix in candy tint to color it any shade that you want, but you could just start out with a color that you like. Candy melts are available in pastels, dark and white chocolate, and other versions. Find them at most any store where specialty baking needs are sold.

Besides candy melts you'll need a little bit of light corn syrup. Start out by heating the candy melts, stirring often, until they're melted but not bubbling hot. Stir in a quarter-cup of light corn syrup, stirring slowly to prevent the fat from separating. If you want really translucent flower petals or other shapes, use glucose instead of corn syrup. Heat the glucose - barely - before blending it in with the candy melts.

After stirring the two ingredients together, turn onto waxed paper, and cover. Allow to sit for three to four hours to set. After the candy clay is set, put it in a plastic bag, and use it when you're ready. You'll find it the easiest to work with if you let it sit overnight. Before molding it, knead it, and you'll be all set.

Press the candy clay into molds, shape it by hand, use cookie cutters, or go online to see videos of how to make flowers and other things. The candy clay looks fabulous on desserts but can be made into treats on sticks, too. Unlike some baking items, which look good but don't taste great, the candy clay is actually very yummy. It takes on the flavor of the candy melts, such as chocolate, or vanilla.

Try your luck at making some candy clay; you can't really mess it up. You'll love how it brings color to anything that you put it on and the eaters of the desserts will adore the delicious taste.