# Make, Bake and Play Fake Chocolate > Mix cornstarch, cocoa powder, brown liquid watercolor and water into a gooey 'melted chocolate', pour it into heart molds and freeze. Then pop out the 'chocolates' and squish them as they melt. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-activities-making-playing-fake-chocolate/ - Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high - Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids - Skills: sensory-exploration, pretend-play, fine-motor, measuring, color-mixing - Cautions: corn, food-dye, ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 2 cup Cornstarch - 3 tbsp Cocoa powder - Brown liquid watercolor - Food color (brown, or red, yellow and blue to mix brown) (optional) - Water (household) - 1 piece Large mixing bowl (household) - 1 piece Container with a spout (e.g. measuring cup) (household) - 1 piece Spoon (household) - 1 piece Molded cookie pan (heart shapes) - 1 piece Silicone heart mold pan (optional) - 1 piece Ice cube tray (optional) (household) - Cooking spray (household) - 1 piece Tray or covered table for play (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of liquid watercolors: Brown food color, or red, yellow and blue food colors mixed to brown (Vary the amounts of the primary colors to get brown.) - Instead of molded cookie pan: Silicone heart mold pan or ice cube trays (Silicone makes popping out the 'chocolates' easier.) ## Safety - It looks and smells like real chocolate but it is NOT food. Liquid watercolors are an art supply, so watch that kids don't eat the 'chocolates'. - Supervise sensory play at all times, especially with toddlers who still mouth things. - Liquid watercolors and food color can stain hands, clothes and surfaces. Cover the table and dress for mess. - Cornstarch goop is slippery on floors. Wipe up spills right away. - Cocoa powder is harmful to dogs and other pets. Keep the goop and the finished 'chocolates' away from pets. ## Before you start - Spray the cookie pan, molds and ice trays with cooking spray. - Clear space in the freezer for the filled pans. - Optional: make and freeze a batch ahead of time so there are 'chocolates' ready to pop out. ## Steps 1. Put about 2 cups of cornstarch in a large bowl. 2. Add about 3 tbsp of cocoa powder. 3. Add brown liquid watercolor (or brown food color) for a rich chocolate color. 4. Pour in water a little at a time and stir until it looks like melted chocolate. 5. Want it darker? Add more color and watch the swirly patterns form. 6. Scoop and pour the mixture into the sprayed heart pan and an ice tray. 7. Adult: put the filled pans in the freezer until the cornstarch hardens. 8. Pop the 'chocolates' out onto a tray. 9. Hold the melting hearts, squish them and let them ooze through your fingers. ## Tips - Set out a container with a spout so kids can add the water themselves more easily. - Remember to spray your cookie pans for easy removal of your chocolates. - After about 5 minutes the 'chocolates' start melting, which we thought was very realistic. - The smell of the 'chocolate' alone was delicious, and my kid enjoyed the making part the best. - Drizzle swirly designs on the tray around the molds to make it more 'chocolatey'. The filled pan is a work of art on its own. - For brown food color, the author likes a gel brand with very intense colors. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2014) It has been hearts, roses and chocolates galore in the house with so many Valentine's day activities we have been doing. It has always been fun to do themed activities with my children and they enjoy it so much that they remember many of thee *[Valentine's day activities](https://www.funlittles.com/category/holidays/valentines-day-holidays/)* we did last year. "Hey mom, remember that [**Valentine's cards**](https://www.funlittles.com/valentines-day-cards/) we made with those straws, that was fun right?" These kind of moments really would fill any mother's heart with joy, right? Today we are messing around with some pretend play/sensory play. If you were around last summer, you may have read our " [**Faux icecream"**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-kids-pretend-ice-cream-play/) pretend play post. Hop on over and read the post! Building on the same recipe, my 5 year just enjoyed this simple sensory play with a chocolate theme. **Materials** *{Direct links to the products are added for your reference}* - Cornstarch - **[Cocoa Powder](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CD4196/?tag=blmemo-20)** - **[Liquid Watercolors](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005V9W9RM/?tag=blmemo-20)** **/** [**Food Color**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YDR82/?tag=blmemo-20) - **[Molded Cookie Pan](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MRHLHM/?tag=blmemo-20)** - or **[Silicone Heart Mold Pan](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M9OBPY/?tag=blmemo-20)** Our biggest change from our earlier ice cream post to this one is that, the previous post was an invitation to simply engage in [**sensory activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/messy-play-2/) (which is just as fun) This time I invited my kid to "make, bake and play" with chocolate. She was intrigued and couldn't wait to get started on this fun Valentine's day activity. She made yummy oogey gooey melty chocolate with 3 basic ingredients. She added about 2 cups of cornstarch in a large bowl and added about 3 TBSP of ****[Cocoa Powder](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CD4196/?tag=blmemo-20)****. To get a nice rich brown color she added our favorite art supply - ****[Liquid Watercolors](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005V9W9RM/?tag=blmemo-20)****. You can always use brown **[**Food Color**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YDR82/?tag=blmemo-20)** { our favorite brand is the Amerigel brand - the colors are very intense} by combining red, yellow and blue food colors by varying the quantities of the primary colors. Finally she kept adding water ( made easier by setting out a container with a spout) until she got the right consistency of melted chocolate. In this activity I think she enjoyed the process of making the "chocolate" the best. The smell of the "chocolate" alone was delicious. Since she wanted a darker color and so she went ahead and added more watercolor. While doing so she created these stunning swirly patterns on the mixture. We have a ****[Molded Cookie Pan](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MRHLHM/?tag=blmemo-20)**** that we used to fill up with this yummy concoction. If you have one of those ****[Silicone Heart Mold Pan](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M9OBPY/?tag=blmemo-20)**** then it will come in handy while you are popping out the "chocolates". The filled up cookie pan itself is such a work of art! The process of scooping and pouring the "cookie batter" was great and my kid thought it would be funny to make many swirly designs on the tray to make it more "chocolatey" { tip: remember to spray your cookie pans for easy removal of your chocolates"} After we filled up at least one more ice tray with the concoction, we placed them in the freezer. Once the cornstarch hardens remove the sheet from the freezer and get ready to pop out your chocolates. This was the batch we made earlier. Would you look at them? They smelled great, just like chocolate and just looked like chocolates. After about 5 minutes they start melting which I thought was very realistic. Then it was sensory play galore. She enjoyed holding the "melting hearts" squishing them and watching them ooze through her fingers all the while taking big whiffs of the chocolate scent. Those half melted chocolate bits just looked divine! Hope you try this wonderful Valentine's day activity with your family. Do come back and share your experience! Thanks for reading **More goop play ideas below** [](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-color-changing-goop-science/) More**[Valentine's day activities](https://www.funlittles.com/category/holidays/valentines-day-holidays/)** on our category page Don't forget to stop by our sweet round up of all Valentine's day activities [](https://www.funlittles.com/10-valentines-day-crafts-and-art-activities-for-kids/)