{recipe} Chocolate Covered Strawberries
My husband loves chocolate covered strawberries. It's his absolute top favorite dessert. I've been making them every year on his birthday, for at least the last 5 years - maybe even longer.
This is one of those recipes that are so easy, I don't even know if it's technically a recipe. It's more a set of simple directions. You can literally make these bad boys with your kids. It's such a quick, fun, easy and affordable project. I refuse to buy them from anywhere pre-made. They are so much better made fresh at home, and you can make 2 dozen of them for less than $10. Compare that to the $37 + you'll spend on a dozen from the store.
A Note about Chocolate
You can use any chocolate you want for this recipe. I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips because I love there chocolate. It's my fave next to Dove. You can use Nestle, SunSpire Organic, Hershey's - anything you'd like. You can also use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, dark, white, cinnamon, peanut butter - you name it!
Ingredients
11.5 ounce bag chocolate chips
Whole strawberries - up to 2 dozen
Directions
Wash your fruit, dry thoroughly and set aside. Place a piece of wax paper onto a baking sheet and also set aside. Throw the chocolate chips into a microwavable safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute and give it a really good stir. Heat in 30 second increments after that, stirring very well in between. I can usually melt the chocolate down in exactly 2 minutes.
When the chocolate is smooth and creamy, you're ready for dipping. I gently hold my strawberries by the green tops, dip most of the way in, and swirl around to get it as close to the stem as possible. Set aside on the wax paper covered baking sheet to cool.
After all fruit is dipped, let it cool at room temp for 30 minutes, then transfer the pan of strawberries to the fridge to harden for 2 hours. Voila! They are ready to eat, transfer to other platters, prep into arrangements, etc... - have at it! They stay good refrigerated for up to 3 days - sometimes longer, depending on the strawberries you chose. Enjoy!!
VARIATIONS
Get crazy and creative! You can dip banana slices, pineapple, marshmallows, apple wedges, grapes, cantaloupe - after you dip in melted chocolate, you can dip a second time into a batch of crumbled nuts, mini chocolate chips - the list goes on. Serve them on a platter for a party - people will rave. You can even purchase bamboo skewers, a simple container and floral arrangement foam, to put together your own edible arrangement.
