How To Make Candles in a Slow Cooker

If you’re looking for a sweet and thoughtful way to show your appreciation this upcoming holiday season, look no further than your slow cooker. In addition to soups, dips, and weeknight dinners, your trusty slow cooker can easily help you DIY the perfect gift: a bunch of cute candles.

And before you ask, no, the wax doesn’t touch the inside of the slow cooker, so there’s no gross residue or hard-to-clean mess. Here’s how to do it at home.

Makes 5 candles

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of soy wax
• 5 (4-ounce) Mason jars
• 5 wicks
• Essential oils (optional)
• Ribbon or twine (optional)
• Sprigs of greenery (optional)

Equipment

• Slow cooker
• Bamboo skewers
• Oven mitts
• Tongs
• Scissors

1. Add wax to the Mason jars: Fill your Mason jars to the top with pieces of wax.
2. Put the jars in the slow cooker: Place the jars inside an empty slow cooker. Pour hot water into the slow cooker until the jars are halfway submerged. Set your slow cooker on high, place the lid on, and let the jars sit for one to two hours or until the wax is completely melted.
3. Add more wax: Once the wax flakes melt, the jars will only be about half full, so carefully add in more wax pieces and stir with a bamboo skewer to combine. Let the new wax melt completely. Repeat until the candles are at their desired fill level, and then leave them in the slow cooker — with the heat still on high — for another half hour.
4. Remove the jars: With your oven mitts on, use tongs to remove the candles from the slow cooker. Place them on a heatproof surface and add in your essential oils if you’d like. (Start with five to 10 drops and go up from there if you prefer a stronger scent.)
5. Add the wicks: Let the candles cool for 10 minutes before inserting your wicks. To keep the wick in the center of each jar, place a bamboo skewer across the top and let the wick lean gently against it. You can secure the skewer to the jar with small piece of tape if necessary. Let sit overnight.
6. Decorate the jars: Leave the candles plain or decorate the jars with a pretty ribbon or twine, and tie in a sprig of fresh greens for a festive finishing touch.
7. Trim the wicks: Use scissors to trim the wicks if necessary and screw on the lids if you want.
8. Pass them out as gifts: Give out finished candles as little tokens of appreciation for coworkers, teachers, and other important people. Or keep them for yourself!

• For a fancier touch, use the quilted crystal mason jars. The textured exterior looks lovely and more like a store-bought candle.
• Do yourself a favor and get shaved soy wax — breaking down the wax blocks yourself is messy and takes a lot of time. It’s $10 for two pounds at Hobby Lobby.
• Trim your wick down to 1/4 inch. Any longer and the flame will be too large!
• Essential oils are nice addition if you’d like to create a scented candle. Lavender is relaxing and calming, patchouli smells earthy, and peppermint has been proven to help with concentration.