Ting-A-Lings, Splendid
By: Emily Heston
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 7:59am

Ingredients




9 ounces premium chocolate, melted (we like a semi-sweet, but milk is nice too!) More on 
2 cups chow mein noodles
1 cup salted, roasted almonds (we used Blue Diamond brand)
3/4 cup chopped butter caramels
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Preparation

1 Prepare and measure dry ingredients and put them in a large, flat container with room for mixing. Stir ingredients together. 2 To "temper" (or melt) chocolate on the stove: 3 It is very important that water or steam does not come in contact with the melting chocolate. Water will cause the chocolate to seize. If this happens, sadly, you just have to kiss it goodbye and start over. There is no road to recovery!! Do not worry, follow these easy steps, splendid ones, and this shall not happen to you! 4 Fill the bottom vessel of a bain marie (or double boiler) with water to a level where it won’t spill out when you put the top vessel in place. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce it to a low simmer. If not using chips or wafers, break the chocolate up into small pieces (or use a knife to create shavings if using a chunk of chocolate) and place it in the top vessel of the bain marie. Place the top vessel onto the lower vessel. 5 Do not put the lid on the pan – this may lead to condensation dripping into the chocolate and the dreaded seize!! 6 Watch the chocolate closely and stir it regularly until it is smooth and glossy. If water begins bubbling up between the 2 vessels reduce the heat a little. 7 Chocolate can also be melted in the microwave, it's hard to give directions since every microwave is different. Here's some general guidelines: Pour the chocolate in a microwave proof container. Turn on the oven, probably for about 20 seconds on high. After 20 seconds, stir the chocolate (because microwaves begin cooking the inside of the food first, the chocolate will look solid, even when the center is beginning to melt). Continue cooking and stirring at set intervals. Take it slowly, if it goes too long the chocolate will scorch. 8 Pour the luscious melted chocolate over the dry mixture. 9 Use a spatula to toss the mixture until it is thoroughly coated in the melted chocolate. 10 Take large pinches of the chocolate covered mixture and place the “pinch” on silpats or waxed paper, shape the "pinch" into somewhat of a ball shape. 11 Allow the chocolate to solidify, this can take up to a half-hour at room temperature (faster if it is on a cold surface). To speed up the process put the trays in the refrigerator or outdoors.

About


While the ting-a-lings people enjoyed growing up were made with Nestle's chips, we now have many more options when it comes to chocolate. We love Guittard chocolate from San Francisco, they have wafers which melt beautifully and are available in the baking section of many grocery stores.
We also LOVE the Belgium chocolate Callebaut for it's smooth, rich flavor. Callebaut can be found in large bars in some cooking stores, or in bulk at Whole Foods and other better grocery stores. Also, I am not sure, but I suspect, the large bars of Belgium chocolate at Trader Joe's are made of Callebaut -- either way, the bars from TJ's would be a wonderful choice as well.