We’ve gone over how to make chocolate covered strawberries before, but I just couldn’t resist taking pictures (with my BlackBerry – so don’t expect anything amazing) as I made them for a holiday party, and so we’re doing it again, with visual aids (and George, ready and willing to clean up anything I might drop on the floor.) Click on any of the images to get the full-size version.
This really is like the easiest thing in the whole wide world to make – and cheaper than that nice bottle of wine you were planning on bringing to your next holiday party.
- 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 (or aluminum foil.)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 on the side of the bowl (this was an edit by BFF, who thought that you’d all be confused and perhaps wipe it on the paper or your arm or the rug…) 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.
