I make a chocolate fudge cookie that's no bake. It holds up great. I used it one year in the cookie exchange at Christmas. Chocolate Fudge Cookies Mix together and boil for 3 minutes the following ingredients: 2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 lb butter 1/2 cup cocoa 2 cups milk Remove from heat: Add 1/2 cup peanut butter (make sure it melts) Add 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups oatmeal Drop by tsp on waxed paper or buttered plate. Linda

The problems I've had with using a crockpot is that the sides of the crockpot get too hot and the bottles in the center are too cool. Even the low setting gets too high at times. When the heater kicks in, it heats the water up too high even for the bottles in the center of the crockpot. I should have thought about that because soups, stews, etc DO simmer on low---way too hot for coatings. One thing I didn't say is that I thought I should be able to warm up 24 colors and keep them warm all day (rainbow of colors plus light and dark shades). Probably an impossible and unnecessary dream!. I really don't use all of the colors all day long & should be happy just to keep the 5 or 6 I'm actually using at the time warm. I use the coatings to decorate cookies instead of using Royal icing (Yuk!). I can't lay the bottles on their sides or upside down because I use bottles with couplers and cake decorating tips on top that I can't close up (different sizes, shapes). That eliminates a heating pad. You all have given me some great ideas including ones that come from adding your ideas & experience together. I'm going to try: -not filling bottles past half way -using a warming tray and sitting the bottles in mugs filled with hot water or like ritaotay, a pot of hot water -using a warming tray the way earthlydelights does Piper10, you might want to try using Paramount Crystals instead of Crisco to thin coatings. I used to use Crisco but found that Paramount Crystals don't give the finished candy a greasy feel and the tendency to melt in your hand. Learned that one the hard way! Think little red, green & brown handprints on walls, floors & furniture! Thank you all! I'll let you know how it goes during my next cookie marathon in mid-late January (for winter & Valentines Day). Hope I can still find this post by then.

Is this it? they had others... see link at bottom. Turtle Candies Recipe TOTAL TIME: Prep: 40 min. Cook: 20 min. + standing MAKES: 50 servings Ingredients 1 pound Diamond of California Pecan Halves, toasted 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 pound milk chocolate candy coating, chopped Directions On waxed paper-lined baking sheets, arrange pecans in small clusters of four to five pecans each. For caramel, in a small saucepan, combine the milk, corn syrup and sugars. Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 238ð (soft-ball stage). Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Working quickly, spoon caramel onto pecan clusters. Let stand until set. In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Spoon over caramel. Chill for 10 minutes or until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 4 dozen. Editor's Note: We recommend that you test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212ð. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test. Originally published as Turtle Candies in Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2009, p78 Here is a link that might be useful: Taste of Home Recipes

Also, it can be helpful to dust your hands with powdered sugar or even a thin layer of shortening to keep the mixture from sticking to your hands, which will warm it up and make it more difficult to handle. Another thing that might help is just work very quickly to get the mixture into something that resembles a ball and then once it's thoroughly chilled/frozen you can reshape it. The trick is not to handle it too much.