Schakolad Chocolate Factory Amarillo, Amarillo

Though cloaked in a velvety chocolate shell, the shape is unmistakable—a tail curved into a half-moon, claws frozen mid-snap. It’s definitely a scorpion. And, if the opinions of the chocolate summer camp’s 8-year-old gourmands can be trusted, it’s also delicious.

Though Schakolad Chocolate Factory owners DeRima and Gary Johnson have been trained in meticulous European chocolate-making techniques that date back three generations, they encourage playfulness and experimentation at their shop. For example, chocolate-making events empower chocolate aficionados to experiment with flavor combinations, and Ms. Johnson recently unveiled chocolate quesadillas for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. The chocolatiers are also happy to customize orders, from scribing messages atop glossy chocolate bars to creating chocolate molds that match the circumferences of customers’ mouths.