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Chocolate Curls

They may look fancy, but delicate strips of chocolate curls are quite simple to make.

Although chocolate curls add a professional touch to cakes, pies, and mugs of hot cocoa, they are surprisingly easy to make. You'll need block (not bar) chocolate—semisweet, bittersweet, and white chocolate all work well—that's at least 1 inch thick. Allow the block of chocolate to soften up a bit, either by putting it on a plate on a warm windowsill or by microwaving the chocolate on the lowest power setting for 1 minute. It shouldn't melt, but it should soften a little. Run the blade of a vegetable peeler along the width of the softened chocolate, creating a curl. The longer the block of chocolate the bigger the curl.

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