I have thought about this post for a few days now, and talked myself into, and then out of posting this recipe. After all… it’s a week after Valentine’s Day! Who wants to read about chocolate covered strawberries now? After much back and forth, I decided I had to post it, for a number of reasons. First, who said we can only have these delightful treasures on Valentine’s day. Secondly, how easy and inexpensive they are (it cost me $14 for the chocolate and a big pack of strawberries). That reason alone is good enough to make me post this. You see, I was at some store the other day, and casually walked by the chocolate covered strawberries, thinking how pretty they were, and how they needed to come home with me. This was before I looked at the price tag, and almost burst into a sprint in the opposite direction. $12 for 4 strawberries????? Seriously????? There was no way I could justify it. The third reason is that it’s a kid friendly recipe. It’s really hard to mess this up, so it’s perfect for little hands. My daughter had fun with this one.
My daughters woke up to a Valentine’s card and chocolate from their Daddy last Thursday, and my oldest wanted to do something special to thank Daddy. Since I am terrible with artsy stuff, a craft was WAY out of the question. The only option I really had was to cook something. I wanted to make something pretty that would not take us all afternoon, but could greatly involve her in the process. This was the perfect thing. She also wanted to share some treats with our sweet neighbors who have become her adopted grandparents. This way, we were able to kill two birds with one stone. Making these was a ton of fun for both of us. I could be a bit more relaxed since there weren’t a bunch of steps for her to follow (I am terrible when it comes to relinquishing control of my kitchen. I’m trying to learn….), and she had fun licking the chocolate bowl when we were done.
As far as the recipe goes, I will give you my instructions that are microwave directions. I had every intention of using a double boiler on the stovetop to melt my chocolate, until I realized my bowl would not fit on the saucepan that I had. The microwave was my last option, but proved to be so easy, I will do it this way every time from here on. I used semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate, but any chocolate would do. Feel free to substitute milk or dark chocolate. I also think it would be fun to play around with different toppings next time, like shredded coconut or nuts. Just dip the strawberries in chocolate, then roll in the toppings before the chocolate dries. Have fun, and make them your own.
One more thing. I had big blocks of Styrofoam from an appliance we had just purchased, so I used that to hold the toothpicks until the chocolate dried. If you don’t have some handy, just line a pan with some parchment paper, or wax paper and lay them on it. They will be a little flat on one side when they dry, but just as good. You could also do this without the toothpicks, and just hold the strawberries by the stem. I just like the less messy method with the toothpick.
We had a pretty big packet of strawberries, so we were able to get a little over 30 covered berries. If you want to make less than that, be sure to adjust your chocolate accordingly. These make excellent packaged gifts.
- 32 strawberries
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)
- 6 ounces white chocolate
- Stick a toothpick on the stem end of the strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are totally dry, or the chocolate will not adhere to them.
- Put your semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Set the microwave to half power, and heat for a minute at a time, stirring after each time. You want the chocolate just melted (too much and it will seize up on you, and become un-usable). Mine took just over 2 minutes. Once it is melted, if you choose to, add in a tablespoon of vegetable oil (this makes it more glossy, and helps with the texture).
- Working quickly, hold the toothpick and dip into the chocolate about ¾ way up the strawberry. Dip the berries, and then twist them a little to get the excess chocolate off. Place on a parchment lined tray.
- Put the white chocolate in a Ziploc bag. Melt in the microwave 30 seconds at a time until just barely melted. Mine took 1½ minutes. Cut a very small hole on one end and squeeze to decorate over the dark chocolate. The smaller the hole, the better. (You could also melt the chocolate in a bowl and use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate).
- Set aside to dry. It takes about 30 minutes.
Devotion For The Day:
It’s still February, the month of love! I think of all the cards and flowers, chocolate and other gifts that go out every February as we take the time to celebrate our loved ones. I have been reminded a lot in the last few days though, about the ultimate love. God’s love. The kind of love that chases after me with reckless abandon. The kind of love that I don’t have to earn, and that never diminishes. Today I want to share one of my favorite verses, because it really helps me grasp how deep and unconditional God’s love for us is.
Romans 5:8. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
foods for the soul
I think it’s the perfect time to post a recipe about chocolate-covered strawberries! Last weekend, our grocery store had 2-lb packages of strawberries on SUPER sale because they were shipped too many boxes for Valentine’s Day, so my fridge is fully of perfectly ripe berries. And since I’m craving chocolate… Well, you can probably fill in the blank! ;]
toplatewithlove
Hmmmmm! Great point as far as the prices. Off to find more berries today! Thanks for visiting my blog.
foods for the soul
My pleasure! Hopefully you’ll find some juicy blueberries or plump blackberries too!
Jeanette Morelan
These look AMAZING!!!
toplatewithlove
They are awesome, and easy to make too! Thanks for checking out my blog. Love yours!