How to create school books using corn syrup free modeling chocolate and fruit leather. A fun snack for end of the school year parties.

Last week one of my readers wrote to me asking if I knew of any alternatives to using corn syrup in a modeling chocolate recipe. As luck would have it, I had just created my Inside Out Chocolate Caramel Apples where I swapped out Dulce de Leche for corn syrup in my modeling chocolate recipe. I was really pleased with the flavor and texture of this new modeling chocolate, and wondered if there were other ingredients that would work as corn syrup substitutes. So, I searched through my pantry for thick sticky liquids and found a few things that I thought might work.

The first thing I tried was honey. Once stirred into melted white chocolate, I found that the texture of this version of modeling chocolate was just as smooth, soft, and pliable as it's corn syrup counterpart, but it had a wonderful floral flavor that I really enjoyed.

I was happy with my first experiment, so I decided to work on another project that could be used as teacher's gifts or end of the school year party snack. I had been thinking of unique ways to make school books, and knew the white modeling chocolate could easily be cut into rectangles to form the pages of some edible books. To create the book covers, I knew I could have wrapped the white pages in a thin layer of colored modeling chocolate, but I wanted more texture and flavor.

I once again went searching through my pantry and came across some bars of cherry fruit leather. I sandwiched a rectangle of the honey modeling chocolate in between a long strip of the fruit leather, hoping it would taste good, hold together well, and be easily bitten into. Luckily, one side of the fruit leather was quite sticky, so it held the modeling chocolate in place. I took a bite - my teeth easily went through the sturdy chewy fruit leather and into the softer more pliable modeling chocolate. I was so pleased that the slightly sour cherry flavor blended so harmoniously with the honey scented, creamy vanilla, flavor of the modeling chocolate, but the best thing about this combination was that the deep burgundy colored fruit leather wrapped around the white modeling chocolate pages looked amazingly like a leather bound book.

If you are helping with a school party, are hosting a graduation party, or are looking for a teacher's gift, why not try your hand at making these edible leather books? I used raspberry, cherry, strawberry, and apricot fruit leather and found that the apricot leather was tougher, thicker, and dryer than the others. I had to add some honey to the pages to make them stick. Try to find fruit leather that are very fresh (look for the expiration date on the package) for the best results. The leathers should be pliable and a bit sticky on one side. Don't ask me why they are sticky on one side, I couldn't tell you, but they tend to be, and it works very well for this recipe.

Edible Books Made from Fruit Leather and Honey Scented White Modeling Chocolate (makes 12 books)

Before you begin: If you haven't made modeling chocolate before or haven't melted chocolate, you should read my chocolate making tutorial.. All brands of white chocolate or white candy melts have varying amounts of cocoa butter or oil, so this recipe is just a guide. You may need to add more or possibly less honey. I used Peters White Caps which are similar to Merckens Super White Coatings or Wilton White Candy Melts.

Ingredients:

8 ounces of white chocolate, or white candy melts

1/4 cup honey

12 assorted fruit leather bars (cherry, strawberry, and raspberry work best)

powdered sugar to dust work surface

Special Equipment Needed:

rolling pin

ruler

pizza wheel or knife

Instructions:

Melt chocolate or confectionery coating in the microwave or in a double boiler. If using the microwave, heat on high for 25 seconds, then stir. Heat for 20 seconds, then stir vigorously. If needed, heat for 10 second increments, stirring after each until melted. Allow the chocolate to cool to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring often.  If you add the honey when the chocolate is too hot, the cocoa butter or oil will rise to the surface and you will have a greasy mess (if this happens, read this troubleshooting tutorial.)  If you don't have a thermometer, test the temperature of the melted chocolate by putting a drop on your lip. It should feel cool. If it's hot, let it cool longer, stirring often to make sure the chocolate at the edges of the bowl does not harden. 

Pour in the honey. Stir until well incorporated. The mixture will become thick very quickly, so scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the melted chocolate. Pour mixture out onto a counter top, preferably marble or granite. Knead until glossy and smooth. My hands tend to be rather warm, so I use a plastic bench scraper to help me knead the modeling chocolate, so that I don't over heat it as this can bring out the oils in the chocolate.

Lightly dust your work surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar.  Roll out the modeling chocolate to about 3/8" thickness. Use a ruler and pizza wheel or knife to cut 1 7/8" x 1 1/2" rectangles.  Re-roll modeling chocolate as needed to create 12 rectangles.

Unwrap your fruit leather bars and set them, sticky side up, on a cutting board. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut off the thicker rounded edges.  Set one rectangle of white modeling chocolate on the right side of each fruit leather strip.  Fold the left side of the fruit leather strip over and press down firmly.  I found that the apricot fruit leather was not sticky enough to hold the books together, so I added a bit of honey. These books held together for a while, but did eventually open.  The cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit leathers were more pliable and more sticky.  To ensure the books would stick together, I covered them with some plastic wrap and set a baking sheet on top then added a heavy can to weigh it down.  I left the books under this weight for over an hour. None of the books made with the cherry, raspberry, or strawberry leathers came apart even after a few days. 

To serve, set the edible books on a wooden cutting board or a serving tray. Store in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate or the fruit leather will harden and dry out. We've eaten all but one of the books within a few days, so I really don't know exactly how long they will keep if stored properly, but I'll guess about a week. If you do store them for a while, you may want to keep some weight on them, to ensure they will stay closed like a book.

Do you make special snacks for your kids on the last day of school or do your kids have end of the year parties? Let me know in the comment section below. 

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-Beth

Products used to make this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)