I would like to try my hand at making cake balls, but don't want to go to the expense of buying candy melts (wow! Those are expnsive!). I have some bags of dark & milk chocolate chips I thought I'd use. Do I need to add anything to them as they melt in order to dip? Or can I just melt & dip away?
When I made some(I just had to after reading so much about them!)I used chocolate chips...melted. I added paraffin wax to one batch of the chocolate before dipping....only so they would be pretty and shiny. The next batch, I just melted and dipped. The taste was the same to me. They both set up nicely too. Both batches disappeared quickly at work too.
Candy Melts aren't chocolate at all. They are cocoa powder mixed with a stabilized fat instead of cocoa butter. They have loads of transfatty acids, and should absolutely not be eaten in any quantity by people over the age of 20.
To get the shiny crisp chocolate to coat anything ( strawberries cake balls etc) you'll need to temper your chocolate.
Q: What is tempering? Why do you temper? How do you temper chocolate?
A: Tempered chocolate is chocolate that has been treated in such a way that its crystalline structure changes. The result is hard, shiny chocolate that snaps crisply when broken, feels dry to the touch and smooth in the mouth, will not bloom when kept away from heat, and melts at a specific temperature (1-2 degrees below normal body temperature).
Most chocolate you buy is already tempered. Chocolate can go out of temper. If you are making candy or dipping strawberries in chocolate, tempering is an important step. If you do not temper the chocolate properly, the coating may appear streaked and won't have that attractive snap when you bite into it.
To temper chocolate, first chop up the chocolate you want to temper. Save a few chunks for later in the process. Then, melt all but the few chunks of chocolate over a double boiler to 110 degrees. By melting chocolate to 110 degrees F, you dissolve all crystals and start from scratch.
Take the chocolate off the heat. Add the chunks of chocolate you held back and, stirring, let it cool to about 80 degrees F.
Reheat the chocolate using a flash method over the hot water in the double boiler. Heat it 3 to 5 seconds at a time, take it off the heat, put it back on, rather than just sitting the bowl back on top of the hot water, until the mixture reaches 91 degrees F.
At this point your chocolate should be well tempered. To test, spread a thin layer of chocolate on a plate and cool it. A fan helps at this stage. When the chocolate on the plate is cool, it should be hard, not sticky, and shiny, not streaked. If this is the case, your chocolate is properly tempered. If it is not, begin the process all over again.
You can use regular chocolate chips to dip with; just make sure to either dip quickly or keep the chocolate warmed. To keep it warm, you can use a small crockpot or a regular bowl seated on a heating pad. I've also heard of people using 1/2 of the ball pan and placing it over a saucepot to make a double boiler.
Just an FYI - it is now illegal in the US to add paraffin to chocolate to stabilize it. Paraffin is a petroleum product, not a naturally ingestible one.
Instead of paraffin, use Paramount Crystals (CK product). You will not find these in the craft stores, but they should be available at any reputable cake/candy supply store or online.
If you use the chocolate chips by themselves, you will end up with blooming (the powdery stuff that gets on the outside of chocolate once in a while), if the cake balls face extreme temperature changes.
Your best bet is to use the Paramount crystals to stabilize the chocolate chips, or to temper the melted chocolate chips before using.
Theresa 
Just wanted to add as an FYI....have you guys seen those coffee mug warming trays at Walmart, etc.? They are about 5 bucks. Well I had the bright idea to try using that to keep my chocolate warm. It worked, but only when there was about 1 c or less of chocolate in the bowl.
For large quantities of chocolate I use the following method for melting --
Hardware:
1 glass bowl with the flattest bottom possible, per type of chocolate (I found some great 1 qt glass pyrex bowls in a dollar store)
1 lb chocolate or candy dots
1 griddle or electric frying pan
1 wooden spoon
method:
Place the bowl on the cold griddle. Add chocolate/candy dots.
Turn griddle to the spot in the middle between warm and off.
Walk away for 30 minutes.
Return to griddle, use wooden spoon to stir dots.
Continue heating until melted.
Note: for white chocolate or white dots, or colored dots made from white chocolate and candy color, turn the dial slightly below the middle, closer to off. White chocolate melts at a lower temperature than milk or dark chocolate, and is extremely sensitive to heat.
Theresa
You can also use Almond Bark - but it doesn't seem to coat as smoothly or taste AS good as those little chocolate discs you get from the cake supply. Try adding a bit of crisco. Last time I was in the supply store I found a can of spray that you spray on your chocolates to get them super shiny. I was interested in it until I looked at the price - about $60 some dollars! WOW! I don't remember what it was called or who made it. I guess I pretty much lost interest after seeing that price!
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