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Business & Tech

Make Your Own Easter Bunny at Creative Treets

Located on Sinclair Frontage Road, the candy supply shop offers a chocolate making class on Saturday for $15, just in time for Easter.

Chocolate eggs and bunnies have become a part of the Easter holiday, and a local candy supply shop in Milpitas teaches students how to make those edible treats on their own.

At in Milpitas, students are taught how to make chocolates professionally without buying factory-made chocolates off the shelves of grocery stores. 

"We want to supply individuals and companies what they need to make their own chocolates, and teach them how to do it," said owner Mary Kay Oster, who bought the business after attending one of its classes.

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The shop offers three basic chocolate making classes, and is currently featuring a special Easter class. 

"We do our classes Saturday mornings, or if a group of four or five wants to take a class, we can do a special class in the evening, any time they want," Oster said. 

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In the Easter class, students are taught how to make 3-D chocolate bunnies and chicks, Easter eggs, boxes and baskets, as well as Easter suckers and medallions.  

All the candy creations are made with Guittard chocolate, a brand that has been around since 1860. Guittard is a supplier for See's Candies

Oster said Guittard chocolate has no waxes, fillers, preservatives or parabens, which makes the chocolate taste great. 

"That's the thing," she said, "It's not just eye appeal, but it's actually great chocolate."

There are a variety of chocolates to choose from including milk, semi-sweet, dark and white as well as sugar-free chocolate, which is shipped from Holland. 

And with 92 authentic flavors in oils, including tangerine, peppermint, raspberry, cinnamon and lemon, students can add any flavor to the pieces they're making to create something unique. 

"You can make anything from a flower to a flag, and color it with anything you want with luster dust and add any flavor," Oster said. "You're literally making something that no one in the world has."

Classes cost $15 and all the chocolate and equipment is provided. Students also get a free chocolate mold to take home. There are no more than 12 students in a class.

"It's hands on and you get to see what other people make, so you not only use your creativity, but you get sparked by each other in the class, and we always share what everyone makes," Oster said. "Its' a fun thing and it's something everyone can do and it happens to be something that everyone really appreciates."

Oster said people of all walks of life attend the classes including men, women and children. 

"We have a lot of boy scouts, YMCA, girls scouts, doctors, moms-to-be and a lot of companies come in," she said. 

Linda Moquin, from San Carlos, said she goes to Creative Treets whenever she feels inspired to get creative with chocolate.

"I've probably been going for at least 6 years," she said. "My friend who introduced me also remains loyal to Creative Treets. It's a tiny little store, but it's packed with anything and everything you could need for candy making. I've made chocolate champagne bottles to white chocolate golf gifts using their molds, chocolate and a little creativity."

David Jahn, a San Jose resident, said he took a class to learn how to make chocolate roses for Valentine's Day.

"My girlfriend loves flowers, but she's severely allergic to them, so for Valentine's I wanted to get her chocolate roses," he said. "It was easy to make and she loved them."

Creative Treets has been in business since 1989 and continues to allow people to give distinction to and personalize chocolate.

Oster said making chocolates is easy because it's all about being creative. 

"The thing I love the most is in school, you only use one side of your brain for the most part, but with this, you use the other side of the brain," she said. "There's no rules. There's no right answers. It's artistic."

The special Easter Class will take place on Saturday, April 16 at 9 a.m. To register, please visit the Creative Treets Web site. 

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