I wanted to venture into making something Pokémon related that did not involve felt.  And I wanted to be able to eat it.  I’ve seen many photos and videos of edible poké balls, so I decided to try my hand at making Oreo poké balls.

I figured that it would be an easy project.  Just dip the cookies in candy melts, put some edible decorations on them.  Voilà!

However, things are not always as easy as they seem.  I looked up how to use candy melts, just in case.  Turns out, it is a little more complicated then just melting them down into colorful goo.  From the many forums and FAQs and how to’s, it looks like a huge problem is just getting those blasted little discs to melt properly.  Which seems rather odd since the whole point of them is that they are easy to melt, and easy to use.  But, those little unhealthy circles were indeed finicky little POS’s.  Thanks to the many sites I read, I think I did ok for my first time.

I wanted to make regular poké balls and great balls.  I got a pack of Oreos, a bag of white, red, and blue candy melts, Crisco, red fruit roll ups, and white candy pearls.

Note: Roughly half a bag of white candy was enough for the entire packet of Oreos.  A little more than 1/3 of the bag of red candy was enough for 2 rows of cookies.  Roughly 1/4 of the bag of blue candy was enough for 1 row of cookies.

I could have melted the candy using a double boiler, but I didn’t feel like messing with hot steam, and potentially seizing the candy.  Warning: If any water or any water based liquid touches the melted candy, it will seize, aka, turn into a lumpy mess.

I decided to go the microwave route.  This is a rather tedious process because you can’t just use brute force and use your microwave’s full power to blast the candy into submission.

I poured red melts into a bowl.  I microwaved it in 30 second intervals.  I started at power level 5.  After each 30 second session, I would stir the candy.  I lost count of how long it took, but the red candy took maybe 4-5 minutes.  As the candy melted more, I turned the power level down to 4, and then down to 3.  Apparently the melting time and process can vary depending on the brand of candy melts, the color of candy melts, the microwave, the temperature of the candy, etc.

After the candy melted, I added a spoonful of Crisco.  This is supposed to thin out the candy and make it easier to use.  So between microwaving, stirring, and mixing in Crisco, I finally got it to a good consistency.  Here’s a tip I read:  use a long and narrow receptacle for the melted candy for easier dipping.  I only had regular bowls, so as I neared the end of the candy, it became more difficult for the cookies to get enough coverage from the remaining shallow puddle of red.

I dipped almost half of the cookie into the red candy.  I shook off the excess, then set it on wax paper on a baking sheet.

I was impatient, so I stuck the tray in the fridge for a few minutes, so they would dry even faster.  They dried pretty quickly, I left the tray in for 20-30 minutes, and they were good.

I melted the white candy melts, and dipped the other side of the cookie.  I had a latex glove on so the heat from my fingers would not melt the red part.  Plus, it’s a good thing because that red color stained.  Then I used a chopstick to dab a bit of candy in the middle.  That worked as glue for my pearls.

For my great balls, I got red fruit roll up for the red stripes on the ball.  However, I was all health conscious (I don’t know why, since I was pouring Crisco, sugar, and artificial colors all over cookies with unknown creamy filling).  I picked up a box of organic fruit strips, and they looked bright red on the box.  BUT…they were more old bloody scab colored…  Next time, I will stick with the old fashioned, artificially colored Fruit by the Foot.  So anyways, I cut the fruit strips into tiny silo shapes.

I melted down the blue candy, but I was not happy with the color.  I’ll have to look around for a more suitable shade of blue candy.  Even after adding white candy to lighten the color, they were still a much darker blue than I wanted.  If I was making Cookie Monster, this would be a great blue to use.  Oooh, idea for next time!  I stuck the fruit strip pieces on the blue while they were still wet.

My not so great, great balls.  They do taste great though.

Poké balls

To store, I layered them in a container.  I separated the layers with the wax paper I used for drying.