It's drawing with chocolate time y'all! This Instructable will show you how to trace an image using melted chocolate and icing. Just look how awesome that chocolate Instructable's robot looks!

This is a great craft for older kids and students, but keep in mind It's best to use easy to trace images like a printout of a character. I used the Instrucatble's robot because it's pretty easy to draw, but the small lines in the eyes and fingers were tricky tracing with chocolate.

Supplies

Chocolate supplies

-White milk chocolate bar

-Dark chocolate bar

-Icing pens

-Food coloring

Other stuff

-REVERSED printout of image

-Plastic film for chocolate pens

-Clear file

-Tape

-toothpicks

-Ziploc bags

-frypan for water

-A bowl to melt the chocolate

-Refrigerator

Step 1: The Chocolate!

For best results, use milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate. All you need to do is slowly heat and cool melted chocolate while stirring. This process is called "tempering chocolate" and there are temperatures involved with the process but you do not need to worry about them here. I promise! I used the cheapest chocolate I could find, but there are products out there if you don't want to temper chocolate. They are called confectionery coatings, coating chocolate, summer coating, or chocolate bark coatings.

Icing pens work well too and are super easy to use.

Step 2: Chocolate Pens!

I find plastic film is the easiest material to draw with. You can also use parchment paper.

Just cut diagonally across a square cutout to make a triangle. You'll roll both ends of the triangle into each other and tape them into place creating a drawing pen. You can also buy small icing bags if you don't want to make your own.

Step 3: Preparing the Picture!

You'll need to reverse the picture!

Tape the picture inside of a clear file and then use alcohol spray to clean the surface of the file. The chocolate goes directly on the file so it needs to be clean.

Step 4: Preparing the Chocolate!

Break up the chocolate you're going to use and place it in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. It's recommended that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water, but I sit it in the water. I live a dangerous life! Once the chocolate is melted enough to stir, remove it from the heat, wipe off the bottom of the bowl and dump the chocolate into the drawing/icing pen.

Don't let the chocolate get too hot!

You'll also cut the tip of the drawing pen right before you're about to draw. Fill the pen up and then cut. Keep in mind, the bigger the hole, the more the chocolate comes out. You'll want a small hole for tracing thin lines.

Step 5: Start Drawing!

Start tracing!

Make sure the chocolate is touching the file. Sounds strange, but it's easy to build up momentum while tracing and this leaves holes in the treat. You want to trace slowly and carefully making sure all nooks and crannies are filled.

The melted chocolate is easy to work with for a while, so there's no rush, but don't let the chocolate sit. Be ready to start tracing once it's melted. If it gets hard, just melt it again.

It's important you not leave any smudges on the plastic, because they'll show when it's finished. You're making this treat in reverse, so the bottom is actually the top. If you smudge a line, just wipe off the entire area with a paper towel and start over.

Refrigerate the image for 10 minutes after each color. You don't want to add a new color until everything is cold. If you do, the colors will bleed into each other.

You can stick it in the freezer too, but I haven't tried. My freezer is too full! :)

Step 6: Drawing the Details!

Refrigerate for 10 minutes before you start and new color!

Use a toothpick for small areas.

For the grayish color, I mixed black food coloring and melted white chocolate.

The red is a melted icing pen squeezed into dish.

Step 7: Icing Pens!

Icing pens are the easiest to work with and the easiest to create holes and gaps.

It's easy to create holes in the chocolate using icing! Make sure the icing isn't too thick when you're drawing with it and make sure it's touching the plastic. The chocolate is more fluid and naturally fills in voids, but the icing sits on top of them.

Melt the icing pens by sticking them in a mug of hot water.

Step 8: The Top Is the Bottom!

You'll cover the back of the treat with one solid layer of chocolate. I used white chocolate and prepared the final layer by just melting the chocolate in a ziplock bag by putting the bag in simmering water. Snip a corner of the bag to draw.

I did two chocolate treats! One treat has a layer of yellow icing and the other is solid white chocolate.

When finished, let cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You can also freeze it. When it's chilled or frozen, it'll easily peel off of the clear file.