Ingredients:
- 1 pound of large ripe strawberries (long stems are best)
- 1/2 pound of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips – milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate (8 oz)
- 1/4 pound white chocolate (optional) (4 oz)
- 1 cup of chopped nuts – pecans or almonds (optional)
Directions:
- Rinse the berries well and pat dry (make sure they’re completely dry with no drops of water present). Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, or nonstick foil.
- Melt your chocolate. If you are using both dark and white chocolate, you will need to melt the two separately. The chocolate melts best with indirect heat– I use a double boiler pan. If you don’t have a double boiler, simmer two inches of water in a saucepan, then place a heat-safe bowl in the water and melt the chocolate in the bowl.
- Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolate on 50% power for two minutes (or until melted), stirring once halfway through cooking.
- At the end of cooking, stir. If the chocolate is not melted smooth, continue to microwave in 15-second increments until fully melted.
- Once your chocolate is melted, you’re ready to decorate. Assemble your parchment-lined baking sheet, melted chocolate, and chopped nuts, if using.
- Dip the strawberries one by one into the melted chocolate, coating them 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up. Lift and twist the strawberry as you pull it out of the chocolate, letting the excess drip back into the bowl.
- If you don’t plan to dip the strawberries in chopped nuts, place the dipped strawberries onto the parchment. Do not move or touch them once you’ve set them down, or you will disturb the lovely chocolate shell.
- If you plan to dip the strawberries in chopped nuts, roll the chocolate-dipped strawberries gently in the nuts to coat before placing them on the parchment.
- After dipping the strawberries in chocolate, if you want to drizzle them with white chocolate, pour the melted white chocolate into the corner of a plastic zipper bag and seal. Cut a very small tip off the corner of the bag.
- Gently squeeze the white chocolate through the hole in the corner, drizzling the chocolate in a thin stream on top of the chocolate-dipped berries, moving your hand to create artistic squiggles.
- Once your strawberries are decorated, place them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes till the chocolate sets.
- You can serve the chocolate strawberries chilled or at room temperature. Chilled strawberries will have a nice crunch to the chocolate– room temp will make the chocolate a bit softer to bite through. Place them in a pretty tissue-lined box for gift-giving, if desired.
