21: Bring In the Kids in VS .NET

Creating Quick Response Code in VS .NET 21: Bring In the Kids

If you purchase only one sheet, you can request a template and see whether the supplier sends you one Otherwise, you need to estimate the size of the pieces, which you can do by measuring and cutting the size you desire Frankly, you don t need to be exact, as long as the kids don t care (and I doubt they will) If nothing else, the supplier can give you a photocopy to allow you to see the pattern

When I began making dipped and decorated rice cereal bars years ago, I tried to find wide, flat popsicle sticks, but this item proved difficult to find at the time Because I was using paper sucker sticks for other items, I tried using that round stick, and now, that s all I use If you want to use flat sticks, you can, but I prefer using the 8-inch round paper sucker sticks If possible, get the paper sticks with a pointed end because they make sticking the treats easier However, a pointed end isn t a necessity To skewer your treats, place the pointed end of the paper stick at the center of one end of the cereal bar, and carefully skewer it, being careful to keep the stick straight Leave about a 21 2-inch handle exposed or as much as you need Just be certain that the handle penetrates far enough into the bar that the piece is stable After you skewer all the pieces, you re ready to dip and decorate your bars

The next step is to dip the bars in tempered chocolate ( 14 is full of easy methods you can use to temper chocolate for all sorts of treats) For large rice cereal bars, I recommend having at least 2 pounds of tempered chocolate on hand If you have enough chocolate in the right-size pot, you can dip the bars straight into the chocolate But more likely, you ll need to angle the bars into the chocolate, lean the bowl over, and spoon some chocolate onto the bars to coat them You re certainly allowed to do so because, remember, you have no rules at home! The key is to coat the bars as you desire ( 15 has more tips on dipping treats) When decorating your bars, you have several choices: You can use jimmies (little sprinkles), a drizzle of a contrasting color of chocolate, or a combination of the two Try using different toppings until you see what you like; however, I don t recommend topping with large pieces, such as pieces of nuts, because you want a fairly thin coating of chocolate, which doesn t hold larger decorations well Of course, you can use chopped nuts, such as pecans or thinly sliced almonds, and you ve created something entirely different from a sprinkled cereal bar

You can make your own rice cereal bars for this recipe if you want (which takes about 10 minutes plus 30 minutes to cool), but I recommend purchasing the 2-pound sheets from a bakery supplier or a candy-ingredient supplier But if you want to make your own, I ll wait You can dip most of these bars in mild chocolate and drizzle white chocolate on top You can also dip a few bars in white chocolate and drizzle milk chocolate on top When I dip these bars, I leave part of the bar exposed for identification, but you don t have to do that Check out these treats in the color section Tools: 20 8-inch paper sucker sticks Preparation time: 1 hour plus 30 minutes of cooling time Yield: 20 pieces 2 pounds milk chocolate, chopped and melted for tempering 1 pound white chocolate, chopped 2-pound sheet of rice cereal bars Toppings as desired to decorate

1 Temper the milk chocolate using one of the methods in 14 2 In the microwave, melt the white chocolate to 94 degrees in a microwaveable bowl on

high power, stopping every 30 seconds to stir and check the temperature with a chocolate thermometer; melting should take about 2 minutes, but microwaves vary