There's nothing quite so luxurious a gift as hand-made chocolates. And you can quickly make up a delicious stash to give away this year and earn a pleasing chorus of "ohs and ahs". Just follow Pauline D. Loh's easy guide.

Chocolates make us melt inside even as they melt in our mouths, being the source of a warm fuzzy feeling that makes it one of the best-loved comfort foods. Dark, delicious chocolates are actually good for us, if we get the best ingredients for the sweets. They are elegant gifts, and always appreciated by adults and children. They are also amazingly versatile and we can create a whole boxful of different flavors, with the variety limited only by creativity and pantry supplies. Use chocolate that has at least 60 percent cocoa butter, or 72 percent if you can get it, and it is worth your while to hunt down a good supplier. There are many specialty baking supplies stores in the major cities all over China, failing which there are the online suppliers. The high percentage of cocoa solids or cocoa butter makes it healthier and frankly, better tasting.

The best chocolate couverture - or high quality chocolate used for molding, dipping or sweets making - is Belgian, Dutch or French. The best is Valrhona, a French chocolate that is known worldwide for its quality.

Try not to use sweet confectionery chocolate because their sugar content is way too high. If you have to buy candy from the shelves for chocolate making, go for the dark bars with at least 60 percent cocoa butter, a percentage that is usually proudly declared on the wrappers.

When making chocolates, the one thing to remember is that you have to have everything ready before you start melting the chocolate. Chop your nuts, have your dried fruits on standby, and also have the garnishes such as silver balls, hundreds and thousands or silver and gold sugar balls ready.

Once the chocolate is melted, you need to work swiftly.

Melting the chocolate is easy. Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl and sit it on top of simmering (never boiling) water. Make sure the bottom of your bowl does not touch the water. Otherwise, you may have clumps of curdled chocolate. What you want to do is to slowly melt the chocolate to a nice, smooth liquid.

Once that's achieved, you want to cool the chocolate to the consistency of very thick honey, so it is easier to work with. Hot chocolate will flow off the table tops.

Line your working surface with grease-proof or wax paper. I use a silicone sheet because it's re-usable and non-stick.

Teaspoons of mixture dropped onto the waxed surface is more than enough for each bon-bon. Too large a spoonful and it's too much of a good thing.

Use dried fruits such as raisins, cherries or dried cranberries to suit the season. Mixed nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pecans work very well.

For garnishes, think out of the box. Dress up some plain dark chocolate with a light sprinkle of crushed chilli flakes, and add a few flakes of snow-white sea salt to a pile of chocolate covered nuts.

The prettiest way to package the chocolates is to place them in a clear cellophane bag and tie it with a bright ribbon. Stick on a gift tag and you have just created the best looking gift under the tree.

If you need help, or have any questions, just e-mail me at paulined@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 12/17/2011 page12)