Chocolate Roses : American pastry chefs invented the recipe and use this delicious edible clay to make garnishes and unique decorations. Here is their secret!

Ingredients: 10 ounces of chocolate (chopped chunks or chips)           1/3 cup light corn syrup

Melt chocolate in a microwave for 1 minute. Stir. If chocolate is not melted, return to the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until smooth. (If you don't have a microwave, place the chocolate in the top of a double broiler over hot water and stir until melted.) When chocolate is melted, add corn syrup and blend. It will "ball up". Pour mixture onto a waxed paper sheet. Spread the chocolate with your fingers until it's about 1/2 inch thick. Cover loosely with waxed paper and let it stiffen for at least a couple hours or overnight. The chocolate will become very pliable like "clay".
Making a Chocolate Rose: Have the kids roll (10) pea to marble-sized balls out of the chocolate clay. Place the balls on a waxed paper sheet, about 1 inch apart. Place another waxed paper sheet on top. Press each marble into a flat disk (about the size of a quarter). Use some pressure! To form the rose: Remove 1 disk and curl it into a "teepee" shape, narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. Wrap the next disk around the opening of the teepee and the third disk at the back of the teepee. This is the rose bud. Keep adding disks which look like "petals". Continue to layer to create a rose in bloom.

Roses can be used as edible decorations for a cake or to create a basketful of blooms. They will harden after a few days and can be saved by storing in a cool, dry place.

Since this recipe is the consistency of modeling clay, you can mold any shape you want.

Note: Chocolate can be substituted with almond bark, or colored candy disks to create different colored flowers
Important note: Adult supervision and participation is required for this activity.