I know it’s hard to believe, but I have never liked Tootsie Rolls.

Does that aline itself as an American travesty? Is that similar to snubbing All American Apple Pie and Baseball?  If it is, then I have found the solution.

My friend introduced me to these incredibly easy to make chocolate chews with only four ingredients, and trust me, this Homemade Tootsie Roll recipe has pulled me right in and made me a candy maker.

I am a convert. I have always avoided making any kind of candy, but this recipe was simply fool proof, and the ingredients literally whipped up in about five minutes.

This basic combination of ingredients is what pastry chef have used for years to make mold-able chocolate.

It stays fresh for a LONG time, and it’s so easy to shape anything. My girls had such fun shaping it, almost like play dough, to form flowers, children’s initial, snakes (for the boys, of course) what ever your heart desires. I think it would be a perfect upcoming recipe to try for Valentine’s Day.

I admit. The homemade tootsie rolls shown above never made it into individually wrapped candies. It pretty much stayed wrapped in one big roll and we just helped ourselves at will.