Instructions(easy) for how to melt milk chocolate, add your own ingriedients-cherries/nuts etc., and cool it..?!

Use or create a double broiler, melt the chocolate. add ingredients and pour into molds and put in fridge

I use these chocolates i got from my local michaels store. I dont remember what they are called but they are circles and you can get them in any color, flavor. What i did was take a bowl and put those in the microwave for 30 seconds taking them out and stirring them and continueing this till they are all melted. Then i get out some plastic wrap and nuts and put all the nuts in the melted chocolate and stir them around till they are even throughout the chocolate. After i just used a spoon and spoonded out the right amount of the mixture and place it on the plastic wrap. Did that for all of the mixture and then placed them in the fridge. It only took about 5 minutes to harded with the chocolate i used, im not sure if hersheys bars would work though.

I do this all the time.

you cannot just melt chocolate, add things and let it solidify again
it will melt at room temp if you do

you need to temper chocolate in order for it to be glossy and solid again
if you dont it will be a dull blob and nothing more

see here how to temper chocolate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_evlqvYZ…

you can add what you want
i make bars for my OH i just add his favourite things, i dont measure
i make bars and just place things on the top
i also use his favourite chocolate when i do it
bourneville for dark, galaxy for milk

Tempering chocolate is tricky. I've seen correct ways of doing it (which is not easy, I'm sorry to say) and ways to do it in a microwave (easy, but doesn't always work because there are too many variables). I'm reluctant to post my technique, but I will in hopes that you will see that it is very important the the chocolate be heated, cooled and heated so as to make it possible for it to harden like you want.

Tempering must be done exactly right or your plain chocolates will streak or turn white after you have dipped them or set them aside to set.

There are three basic types of chocolates used in candy making - bitter sweet, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate. Most candy is made with the dark chocolate.

Melt chocolate very slowly. Cool it just as slowly....You must use a candy thermometer.

100 degree first melt
First bring the chocolate up to 100 degrees by placing small pieces over a double boiler. Never put a id on melting or warm chocolate [condensation may drip]. Do not let any moisture into the chocolate. se a strong wooden spoon beat the melting chocolate vigorously and frequently.

120 to 130 degree second melt
When there is a considerable amount of melted chocolate in the pan, but still some lumps too, pour out the hot water from the bottom section and replace it with water that is just hot to your hand - about 120 degrees. The chocolate will absorb this heat from the water below and rise to the 120 degrees in a slow melt. Heating the chocolate above 140 degrees will bun the chocolate and you need to throw it out.

Cooling and tempering
Continue to beat vigorously until batch reaches the 12o degree temperature. At this time add small pieces of the same chocolate [professionals also add 1/2 ounces of cocoa butter] to the melted mixture and beat again. This will cool the mixture. The desired temperature is 85-90 degrees.

Oven heating procedure
Some people preheat oven to 150 degrees and move mix in or out on the open oven door to regulate heat. Or, replace the water in the double boiler with new 80 degree water. Beat the chocolate until it has cooled to 80 degrees. Change the bottom boiler water to 86 to 90 degree. Allow the coating to rise to 85-86 degrees over this bath, beating occasionally. This method is laborious.

Holding and using tempered chocolate
The chocolate is now ready for use and should be kept at 85 to 86 degrees during the time you are dipping by allowing the pan to stay over the water bath. Fats and oils impure chocolate separate over 100 degrees and the resulting candy will streak gray or white on the surface.