With Valentine's Day a few days away, I decided to make some quick and easy chocolate gems. Dark Chocolate of course (well mostly). And these gems aren't your ordinary chocolate gems, they're loaded will all sorts of goodies!! Kettle chips, multigrain pretzels, cranberries, macadamia nuts, salted caramel chunks, oreo cookie crumbles, speculoos cookie crumbles and speculoos cookie butter, oreo cookie crumbles, and even halva hunks have found their way inside these little gems. Belgian dark chocolate, white chocolate, and even peanut butter paired with everything but the kitchen sink, these chocolates make for a fast and fun treat for your favorite valentine(s). By all means, check around your pantry, see what you got hidden in there, chop/crumble/scoop it up and throw it all in. Random fact, "kitchen sink" is also the name of my favorite burrito on Maui from Las Piñatas of Maui. 

If you can temper chocolate, you can make these simple beauties. A few basic ingredients are all you need and you'll be on your way to the prettiest, simplest v-day treats around. Grab a cute box, line it with mini baking cups, and you're all ready for the big day. You can even get crafty and pull out some stamps and stamp away on your box to make a custom design or decorate with festively colored/printed washi tapes. So many options and so much fun!

Above you'll find a few handy dandy photographs to help illustrate just how easy these gems are to make. Simply spoon in some tempered chocolate into the bottom of each mold, wrap on the counter a couple times, top with your favorite fillings, spoon on another layer of chocolate and give the mold a few more taps. Pop that into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set then sprinkle on additional topping and spoon on another layer of chocolate. Wrap a few times more, pop into the fridge for 10-15 more and pop out of the mold. Easiest treats, ever! And if you're feeling extra fancy, brush on some edible gold pearl dust onto the bottom of the mold before you spoon on your first layer!

Kitchen Sink Chocolate Gems

Makes 18 Chocolate Gems

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz. dark chocolate
• 4 oz. white chocolate couverture
• 2 oz. peanut butter chips
• Fillings of your choice (examples: pretzels, kettle chips, speculoos cookie butter, oreo cookies etc.), finely chopped, crushed or ground depending on type
• Optional: edible gold pearl dust

TOOLS

• 18-Cavity Silicone Mini Diamond Chocolate Mold
• Silicone spatula/offset spatula
• Double boiler
• Food safe paint brush (for painting on dust)

FIX

1. Finely chop chocolates. 
2. Temper dark chocolate. (To temper, fill pot with water and bring to a simmer then turn off heat. Fit with top pot or bowl and place 2/3 of your chocolate in top pot/bowl. A portion of the top pot/bowl should submerged in water. Heat until chocolate is about 2/3 melted, gently stirring with silicone spatula. Once completely melted, test chocolate by dabbing a bit just below lower lip. If it barely stings, it's done. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/3 of chocolate until melted).
3. Spoon into the bottoms of molds until about 1/3 filled. Wrap mold on counter a couple times to level out chocolate/remove air bubbles. 
4. Top with desired fillings then spoon on more chocolate till mold is now 2/3 filled. Wrap on counter again a few times then transfer to fridge for 10-15 minutes to set. 
5. While setting temper white chocolate following set #2. 
6. Remove mold from fridge and top with desired toppings. Spoon on tempered chocolate (or melted peanut butter chips) and fill to top, being careful not to overfill. If you do overfill, simply remove excess with offset spatula. Wrap on counter a few times then transfer to fridge to set for 10-15 minutes. 
7. Gently unmold (only unmolding with the chocolate easily releases--if it doesn't release easily, return to fridge for another 5-10 minutes to continue to set). 
8. Serve and enjoy!