Chocolate Candy Geode

Using a few simple ingredients, you can make a stunning (and huge!) piece of candy that looks like a precious gem. And to cast it, all you need is some household equipment a little patience.

You will need:

Dry rice, flour, dried beans, beads, sand, or a similar substance (for the mold)

3 cups of sugar

1 cup of water

Few drops of food coloring

Flavoring (optional)

3 cups of white chocolate chips

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Oreo crumbs (optional)

Adapted from Ann Reardon

Fill a large, shallow bowl or dish with your rice, flour, or other grainy substance. I used rice. Next, gently push down a smaller bowl, tilted slightly. (The rice underneath will help keep it in place). Completely cover the bowl with foil, making sure to smooth it out as much as possible.

On the stove over low heat, pour the water over the sugar. Heat the mixture until the sugar is just dissolved.

Once off heat, add your flavor and color until it looks how you want it to. I used a pretty pink food coloring and raspberry extract. Then pour the syrup into the foil mold.

Wait about 48 hours for the syrup to dry.

Remove the candy from the foil, and invert it over a glass. Cover the top with melted white chocolate.

With your remaining chocolate, stir in the cocoa powder. This works better than regular melted chocolate, which looks shinier and less rock-like. Then, smother the geode with a second layer.

While the chocolate is starting to set up, you can cover it with oreo crumbs, which look like dirt. This is mainly for taste rather than aesthetics.

Once the chocolate is completely hard, carefully flip the candy over onto a plate. The chocolate will form pretty spikes around your finished geode.