After all the edible paint fun we had with our Conversation Heart Paint last year, I thought it would be fun to make the kids a glossy Edible Chocolate Paint for some scented Valentine’s Day cards.

    

Edible Chocolate Paint Recipe

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: my biggest concern was that this edible chocolate paint would end up looking, well, rather unappetizing.

I tried to offset this by making the edible chocolate paint as glossy as possible. I also would recommend making a couple batches of our conversation heart paint or another edible paint to add some color into these pictures, so it’s not just a big glob of brown.

With older kids it may also be less of an issue because their paintings tend to be less “abstract” and they could paint things that more obviously look like a chocolate treat.

 

I’ll be honest, my kids just loved that they could taste the paint – both the toddlers who try to taste it all the time anyways, and the preschoolers who were just gleeful at the silly idea.

They also loved that when their parents showed up at the end of the daycare day, they could shove the chocolate-scented art in their faces and encourage them to “SMELL!”

The worried-looking parents were all understandably relieved to smell a distinct chocolate scent wafting from their handmade Valentine’s Day cards.

This would also be a fun sensory art activity for Halloween, Mother’s Day, or really any time you can use a chocolate sensory fix.

Edible Chocolate Paint Ingredients

• Corn syrup
• Cocoa powder

Tip: the actual amounts that you will need will vary based on the types of cocoa and corn syrup used, and also how glossy or richly colored you want your paint. Use your personal preference to guide you.

Materials You May Find Helpful

• Measuring spoons
• Mason jar
• Mixing spoon
• Paintbrushes
• White cardstock

How to Make Edible Paint

Mix approximately 2-3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder into 1 cup of corn syrup and stir well. If your mixture has a hard time combining, you can microwave it for 20 seconds and let cool, then stir well.

I just stored it in a mason jar and then let the older kids dip their paint brushes directly into that.

For the younger kids, I gave them spoonfuls of the paint at a time so that if they were putting their paintbrushes in their mouths then there wouldn’t be any double dipping and germ spreading.

The more corn syrup you add, the thinner and more spreadable your paint will be. The more chocolate you add, the thicker and more pigmented.

 

Pin this Edible Chocolate Paint recipe for some fun sensory art time:

Grab your free printable for our edible paint recipe:

This edible chocolate paint recipe was such a hit with my mixed age group and it helped them create some festive, scented cards!

For more chocolate sensory play ideas, check out our Hot Chocolate Cloud Dough or our 10+ Chocolate Sensory Play Ideas.

Or, if you’d like some Valentine’s Day craft ideas for kids, check out: