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How to Melt Chocolate Wafers in the Microwave

You can melt chocolate wafers like a pro in your microwave. And your kids can, too!

Chocolate wafers – also called melting wafers, candy melts, or melting chocolate – are disks of flavored candy that are used as a confectionary coating on cookies, fruit, ice cream, and desserts. You can also use wafers to make candy in molds.

Some people even use the melted wafers to coat potato chips. (Hmmm…)

The wafers are available in brown and white chocolate plus all kinds of colors. Look for them in the baking section or the cake decorating section of your grocery store.

Burn and Learn

If there is one tip to know about melting chocolate wafers, it is this: the wafers burn easily – or as foodies like to say, the chocolate “seizes.” More accurately, the sugar in the wafers can burn if the chocolate is melted too quickly or at too high of a temperature, leading to a lumpy or gritty texture.

There’s a good likelihood that over the years, you WILL burn melting chocolate. Don’t beat yourself up. You will learn not to. You will discover at what rate the wafers melt your microwave.

To be successful as you melt chocolate wafers, use these two top tips:

1. Keep the chocolate temperature even between cooking intervals by stirring the chocolate extremely well when it comes out of the microwave.
2. Do not overcook the melting chocolate!

How to Melt Chocolate Wafers in the Microwave

1. Set melts in a microwave-safe dish. 
2. Microwave at 50% power for 1 minute (45 seconds for white chocolate melts.) Remove the dish from the oven. Stir melts thoroughly.
3. Return dish to the oven. Microwave at 50% power for 30 second intervals, stirring thoroughly after each interval, until wafers are largely melted. If wafers are partially melted and dish is still warm, allow it sit a minute or two and then stir again. Do not over-microwave.
4. Use the melted chocolate as soon as you can because it will set quickly.

Extra Tips for Melting Wafers

White chocolate wafers have more sugar than brown chocolate wafers. That means white wafers melt faster. Adjust cooking times accordingly. Note that colored wafers, other than brown chocolate, are white chocolate-based.

Glass bowls get warm faster than plastic bowls. Plan accordingly. If you use a plastic bowl to melt chocolate, understand that you may need to increase melting times a bit. Try adding an additional 10-15 seconds.

Try This!

You may place the wafers in a disposable decorating bag and melt them directly in the bag, kneading it between intervals. Then you can decorate cookies directly, using the bag, without transferring the chocolate from a dish.

What If I Accidentally Overcook the Chocolate?

Do not add water or liquid! That will make the chocolate seize even more. Instead, add a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil or solid vegetable shortening. Do not add butter or margarine, as these products are 20% water.

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