Turn Your Crock Pot Into A Fondue Station With An Easy Jar Hack

Chocolate fondue is not only delicious but is also a fun activity to do with family and friends during casual get-togethers or even formal holiday parties. The only problem with fondue is that it can be a real mess to clean up. If you don't rinse the machine right away, you might be stuck scraping off hardened — or even burnt — chocolate. Luckily, there's an easy way to have a chocolate dipping fondue station without all the mess, and all you need is a crock pot and some glass jars.

For this hack, you'll need to fill a few glass mason jars with different types of chocolate and then place them (jar and all) in a crock pot filled with hot water. The hot water will then melt the chocolate and keep it that way for easy dipping. This means that your dinner guests will be able to enjoy chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, fruits, and cookies all evening long without having to worry about the chocolate going hard. When you're done, simply rinse the glass jars out, soak them in warm water, and then pop them into the dishwasher. No need to clean out a whole crock pot or, even worse, an entire fondue fountain. So, how does this hack work?

The classic method for melting chocolate is to use a double boiler. However, this method requires constant surveillance and stirring to make sure that your chocolate doesn't burn. Plus, when using a double boiler you can really only melt one type of chocolate at a time. Luckily there is more than one way to melt chocolate perfectly.

To melt your chocolate with a crock pot, go ahead and fill separate mason jars with the chocolates of your choice. If you want, you could have one jar each of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and even mint chocolate. Then, fill your crock pot with about two inches of water and place the jars inside the pot. The water line should be about halfway up your jars. Then, when you're ready, set your crock pot to high heat and cook uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. When the time is up, stir the chocolate to make sure it is melted all the way through. If it is, set the crock pot to low and you're ready to start dipping! The chocolate will hold for around two to three hours in the warm crock pot. You may need to add more hot water as needed.

If your guests are about to arrive and you don't have half an hour to wait before the chocolate is melted and ready to go, you can always melt the chocolate in the microwave first and then transfer it to the crock pot to keep it warm. For this method, it's important to be careful because there are a couple of microwave mistakes to avoid when melting chocolate. Generally, the best way to do it is to microwave the chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring between each one to make sure every piece melts evenly without burning. Once each jar of chocolate is fully melted, go ahead and place it into the hot water inside the crock pot and set it to low. This way, the crock pot will keep the chocolate warm and liquidy without burning it and your guests can enjoy dipped chocolate treats all evening long.

So what treats can you dip in your easy crockpot fondue? Everything from fruit and graham crackers to marshmallows, cookies, and even waffles go well when paired with chocolate. The world is your oyster with crockpot fondue.