Kids love marshmallows. They especially love giant marshmallows, which is why I chose giant marshmallows for this Halloween treat. The size also goes better with the gummy eyes I used to make my chocolate covered marshmallow monsters.
These are easy and fun to make. You can use just about any small topping to make the monsters look interesting. I used Nerds and Pop Rocks for these, along with a little candy corn for decorations. The ones made with Pop Rocks have to be eaten fairly quickly – the Pop Rocks will lose their pop and get soggy after several hours.
Cake sprinkles would work well too. Sugar sprinkles don’t work too well, as they soak quickly into the chocolate. If the chocolate is close to solid they may work out better.
Lightly crushed pretzels are another option I considered but didn’t try. I think the bit of salt would go well with all the sweet this treat has.
You could also use colored candy melts rather than chocolate to give your monsters an interesting color. I prefer chocolate, so I didn’t.
I make these over a baking sheet for easy cleanup. It keeps most of the drips off the counter. When I’m done, the whole mess can be cleaned in the sink. It’s much faster than scrubbing countertops.
When you’re dipping the marshmallows, it’s easiest to have them on a popsicle stick. You can keep them on the stick for serving as well if you like. Dip the marshmallow into your melted chocolate. Use a spoon to pour a little chocolate around any areas that don’t go all the way in. I left the bottoms undipped – just a style choice.
It took some work to figure out how to let these dry for a little before dipping into the toppings. If you dip the marshmallows into the topping when the chocolate is too melty, everything drips off.
I placed a bowl on my baking sheet, and used it to balance the freshly dipped marshmallows, with the popsicle sticks against the edge of the baking sheet. You can’t fit a lot of them using this method, but you can get a few. If the sticks won’t stay down, a bag clip attached to the baking sheet above the stick will help.
Refrigerate the freshly dipped marshmallows for just a few minutes before rolling in the toppings. You don’t want the chocolate to completely solidify, but you want it solid enough to hold the toppings well. 2-5 minutes, depending on how warm your chocolate is, should be plenty. Carry the baking sheet carefully, or the marshmallows will fall over. No big deal, just prop them up again.
Pour your chosen toppings into a bowl, and roll the chocolate coated marshmallows in them. Coat them completely, but leave a bit of space for the eye or eyes.
If you cover the space where the eyes with toppings, take a clean popsicle stick and move them out of the way. Add a little chocolate if necessary before placing the eye.
You will probably need to lay the chocolate covered marshmallow monster down on its back after adding the eye, so it doesn’t fall off. Depending on the toppings, you may get a slight flat spot back there, but it’s usually not too bad.
To add candy corn decorations or anything else that sticks out, stab the appropriate spot with a skewer or butter knife, then stick the item in.
Refrigerate your chocolate covered marshmallow monsters until solid. Give at least 20 minutes to an hour.
At this point you can remove the popsicle stick if you want to display the monsters sitting up. Then again, kids may like them better on a stick – food tastes better on a stick, right? These probably won’t last long either way once the kids see them.
- 10 oz chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 bag giant marshmallows you won't use all of these
- popsicle sticks
- assorted toppings Nerds, sprinkles, etc.
- 1 package gummy or candy eyes
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Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments, stirring between rounds.
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Place giant marshmallows on popsicle sticks.
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Dip marshmallows into chocolate. Use a spoon to pour chocolate over the marshmallow if the chocolate is not deep enough.
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Balance dipped marshmallows and give time for chocolate to partially solidify. This will help the toppings stay on. Refrigerate for 2-5 minutes to speed this up.
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Roll dipped marshmallows in selected toppings. Lay the marshmallow flat.
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Clear a space for the candy eye or eyes, then place eye. The marshmallow will need to remain flat so that the eye does not fall off as the chocolate solidifies.
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Cool finished marshmallows for at least 20 minutes or until the chocolate has completely solidified.
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Remove popsicle sticks if you want to stand the chocolate covered marshmallow monsters up, or keep on sticks if you want to serve them lollipop style. Kids won't care.
