Storage: These candies will keep, sealed and in a cool, dry environment, for 1 week.

Bain-marie is the French cooking term for a metal bowl or container that can sit over or in simmering water to keep the contents of the container or bowl hot—basically, a makeshift double boiler. Fill a pot large enough to hold a medium-sized mixing bowl on top with 1 inch of water and set over low heat. When the water is simmering, set the bowl on top of the pot. If you are using a bain-marie for a sabayon, simmer the water over medium-high heat.

How to temper chocolate:

You will need a digital thermometer to temper chocolate. The room you are working in needs to be between 62°F and 72°F. If the temperature is significantly higher than 72°F, it will be difficult to temper chocolate, so I don’t recommend attempting this process in the heat of the summer. Make sure your cutting board, knife, bowl, and rubber spatula are clean and completely dry. Foreign particles and water will prevent the fat from crystallizing in the optimal formation. Prepare a bain-marie. Chop the chocolate into ½-inch pieces. Scrape 90 percent of the small pieces of chocolate into the bowl of the bain-marie. Melt the chocolate, stirring every minute or so, and remove from the heat when it reaches the temperatures listed on the chart below for the chocolate that you are using. Add the reserved 10 percent of the chopped chocolate. This chocolate will function as a seed crystal-it is already tempered, and the fat molecules in the melted chocolate will follow the same crystal formation. Stir and scrape the chocolate with a rubber spatula every 4 minutes until it cools to the temperature on the chart below.

Test the chocolate to see if it is ready by smearing a small droplet on a clean counter surface or piece of parchment or wax paper. If the room you are working in is not too warm (over 72°F), the smeared chocolate should dry within 5 minutes. If you have smeared it on paper, you should be able to peel the paper off the chocolate. If you smeared it on the counter, it should scrape off easily. If it is not drying and setting, stir the chocolate and allow it to cool another degree or two before testing it again.

Allow the bain-marie to continue to simmer as you dip your cookies. As the tempered chocolate cools, you can reheat it very gently within the temperature range listed below.

Heat dark chocolate to 120°F. Cool dark chocolate to 82-87°F.

Heat milk chocolate to 112°F. Cool milk chocolate to 81-84°F.

Heat white chocolate to 110°F. Cool white chocolate to 81-84F.