Ok, I made a ton of chocolate covered oreos last year to hand out at Christmas. I used a dozen different colored merckens. I always microwaved them and just poured them into the molds. I had lots left over and stored them in plastic bags in a tupperware.

Well I tried to make a batch and I can not get the merckens to melt. I tried microwaving them in a bowl. Microwaving in a plastic bag and also melting them using a double boiler. Nothing, I end up with a mushy blob of chocolate more suited to letting my 4yr old mold into creatures. I never get anything even close to a pourable chocolate. I even tried adding shortening which did thin it but it was still full of unmelted bits and unusable. I am sure I am not getting any water/moisture into the chocolate but it is acting like I am.

Do merckens go bad? I have probably thrown out a pound of different colors trying to get the darn things to melt.

Can anyone shed any light as to my problem. I am dying to start making these and this is killing me. I am going to go out and buy a new batch and hope that makes a difference but then what a waste.

Thanks everyone in advance.

They do have a shelf life but I dont know how long.

I just took a candy making class last week and my instructor said merckens lasts about 6 months if stored in a cool, dry place. Hope this helps! I also bought the supplies to make chocolate covered oreos this year.. I think they will be a hit! Good luck

You can try adding a small amount of vegetable oil to the chocolate. Sometimes that is all it needs to become pourable again.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like my chocolate has gone bad. I will try the suggestion to use vegetable oil but shortening didn't help so I am not too optimistic. I will buy a new batch tomorrow and post if that fixes my problem.