Patent ID: 7452560

Claim:
A method for preparing a hand-held snack item, comprising: applying a first edible, heat-sensitive food material to an initial formed hand-held food item, thereby forming a preliminary coated hand-held food item; applying a protective coating of cocoa powder to said preliminary coated hand-held food item thereby forming a secondary coated hand-held food item, wherein said cocoa powder substantially completely coats said edible, heat-sensitive food material, the cocoa powder capable of curing by liquefying when heated and drying as a solid film to protect the edible, heat-sensitive food material when subjected to a temperature effective for liquefying the cocoa powder and drying; subjecting said secondary coated hand-held food item to the temperature effective for liquefying the cocoa powder; and drying the liquefied cocoa powder to produce a final, coated hand-held snack item wherein the edible, heat-sensitive food material is substantially intact.