Starlite Mint Trays

[psycho_happy_kitten]

I saw this DIY tray tutorial on Pinterest: http://tuttobellablog.com/2011/12/19/diy-serving-tray-2/

I thought I'd try my hand at it. Seemed easy enough and I was at the store anyway so I picked up some Starlite mints. I got a medium sized bag for a little more than $2 at the Commissary.

Try one:

Looks terrible. I think I left it in too long. 10 minutes was too long for this one. The wax paper sticks to the bottom of the tray too, so unless you don't mind a little paper in your mouth, it's not edible. Not even if it turns out badly like this one did.

Try two:

Better. I only used four because I thought I should use a few less and watch it more closely to see how it melted.

Try three:

Much better, but still not as nice as the original poster, I think. The lonely Starlite off to the side was because my Japanese oven blows air through when it is running and kept folding the wax paper over onto my tray. Btw - If I were you I would just cut the wax paper around the edges of the tray rather than try to take it off. This would also help to keep the bottom from being sticky on your hands if you carry it without anything else under it (the top of the try is slightly sticky as well).

Thanks for looking!

[elderflower]

Looks like a great idea.  Thanks for sharing your progress and the problems you had along the way. Would baking parchment have been less likely to stick to the mints than wax paper?  Tries Two and Three look very nice anyway. How long did you leave it in for in the end?

[bunny1kenobi]

cute idea, and I can see why you wanted to try it!  Perhaps parchment would help, and what if you baked it in a round, square, or rectangular pan (cutting the parchment to fit) instead of a cookie sheet?  I wonder if it would prevent odd shapes?  It might even make for a slightly thicker (and therefore sturdier) tray as well.  I may have to give this one a try! 

[ToadallyDee]

And just a thought that if the parchment paper did work to come off better than the wax paper...if it is still a little sticky once it has COMPLETELY cooled, a light dusting of powdered sugar to both sides (not so much to cover the beautiful pattern) might help to eliminate the stickiness enough to use it.

[ivoryh1632]

I'd also suggest using parchemt instead of wax paper, it shouldn't stick. Thought the best thing would be if you have a silicone baking pan, this way the mints will keep their shape when they melt and the tray won't stick to the pan, if you go this way though and the tray doesn't pop out of the pan right away, try sticking it in the freezer for a half hour or so and it should pop right out.

I've also heard that different brands of mints melt differently so you might wanna try a few brands and find one that melts best

[psycho_happy_kitten]

Looks like a great idea.  Thanks for sharing your progress and the problems you had along the way. Would baking parchment have been less likely to stick to the mints than wax paper?  Tries Two and Three look very nice anyway. How long did you leave it in for in the end?

I think that parchment paper would have worked better. The linked tutorial did say that parchment paper was what the original person used, but it was quicker for me to pick up wax paper than search for parchment paper at the Commissary (Hubby is sick, didn't want to keep him too long at the store!)

cute idea, and I can see why you wanted to try it!  Perhaps parchment would help, and what if you baked it in a round, square, or rectangular pan (cutting the parchment to fit) instead of a cookie sheet?  I wonder if it would prevent odd shapes?  It might even make for a slightly thicker (and therefore sturdier) tray as well.  I may have to give this one a try! 

Using a tray to fit would be a good idea, thicker is better but the trays were actually sturdier than I thought they'd be. You have to use some force to crack them.

In the end, I sat in front of the oven and kept an eye on them while I worked on other things. The tiny tray was about 4 minutes, and the final tray was 8, maybe?