I think chocolate covered strawberries might be close to the easiest bang-for-your-buck hostess gift you can bring to a party. (Yes, I realize the holidays are over, but who doesn’t like a little treat right smack in the middle of their New Year’s resolutions?)
Every time I bring them somewhere, people ooh and aah and make like it took me all 16 years of working in my parents’ pastry shop to learn how to make them.
They’re easy, they taste good, and you can be lulled into thinking they might be a bit good for you since there’s fruit in the name and the middle.
- Buy strawberries.
- Buy chocolate chips.
- Buy those cute little cups for cupcakes… they come in fancy colors.
- Buy some white chocolate and maybe some sprinkly bits.
- Go home.
- Open the bag of chocolate chips and try not to eat the whole bag before you get anything accomplished.
- Melt the chocolate on medium heat in the microwave. Hotter and you’ll burn it. Take it out and stir every minute or so. Trust me on this.
- Check your strawberries. Don’t use ones that have mushy spots.
- Prepare a couple of sheets of wax paper to lay the berries on. If it’s winter, they will likely dry on the counter. In hotter weather, you’ll have to put them in the fridge to harden. If you have to transport them to the fridge, make sure the wax paper is on something hard, like a sheet pan. Otherwise, you can just leave them to dry on the counter for a bit.
- Important: pull the green leaves up and away from the fruit and hold it like a handle. This keeps everything pretty and not so damn messy.
- Stir your chocolate and wipe down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. If you don’t have one, you should have bought one during the shopping part of the procedure.
- Dip and twist. About 80% submersion. You want to see the top of the berry, but you want enough chocolate.
- Wipe off the bottom of the berry and put it down on the wax paper. This avoids the big puddle of chocolate at the bottom… gravity will bring some of it down, and you should have a perfect berry every time. It’s all about the wipe.
- If you’re doing multiple toppings, do about 10 and then choose your first decoration. Sprinkle the sprinkly bits while the chocolate is still soft so it will stick properly.
- Melt your white chocolate. Use a fork, dip and wave. Try not to get the white chocolate all over everything in the kitchen. Move fast enough that it drizzles and doesn’t clump.
- One got screwed up? Eat it.
- Let them dry. If you move them too soon, they will get all yucky. You don’t want yuck after all this effort.
- Put them in the little cups and deliver.
- People will swoon. I promise.
