Description
Chocolate covered strawberries are a delicious, classic dessert that is perfect for Valentine’s day, or spring, or summer. They are fun, and easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate bar – 60% cocoa (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil
- optional: 4 ounces white chocolate bar
Instructions
- Wash and dry the strawberries – Wash your strawberries, and then lay them out on a clean kitchen towel, or a few paper towels. Use the towels to dry as much of the water off the strawberries as possible. Allow the strawberries to sit out and dry for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour (or longer). The goal is to make sure the strawberries do not have any wetness to them at all. If water gets into the chocolate it will cease up, and it won’t stick to the strawberries.
- Prepare – Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Melt the bittersweet chocolate – Chop the bittersweet chocolate and place it into a microwave safe bowl. Add the coconut oil. Melt the chocolate by microwaving it in 30 second increments – stirring the chocolate between each increment – until the chocolate is melted.
- Dip the strawberries into the chocolate – I find it easier to transfer the melted chocolate into a small bowl so there is a deeper amount of chocolate to work with. Carefully grab a very dry strawberry by the green leaves and dip it into the chocolate, twirling the strawberry around until it is mostly coated except for a little bit at the top, allow some of the excess chocolate to drip off the strawberry, then place it onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have covered all of the strawberries. If the chocolate starts to get thick on you, pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up a little. As the chocolate begins getting used up, I find it helpful to use my free hand to pick up the bowl, and tilt it so the chocolate is pooled in one side of the bowl while I use my other hand to dip the strawberry.
- Chill the strawberries – Allow the strawberries to set up a little before adding the white chocolate drizzle. To speed this up, I recommend putting the strawberries into the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Melt the white chocolate – (Optional step) Melting white chocolate can be a little tricky. See my notes on what kind of white chocolate to buy. I found it was easiest to melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Add water to a medium sauce pan, allow it to come to a simmer. Chop up the white chocolate, and place it into a mixing bowl that fits snuggly on top of the sauce pan. Note: you do not want the water to touch the bowl, or the water to get inside of the chocolate. While the water is simmering underneath the bowl, carefully stir the chocolate until it is completely melted. Carefully remove the bowl from the sauce pan, and wipe off the bottom of the bowl.
- Drizzle with white chocolate – (Optional Step) – Use a spoon to drizzle the white chocolate over the chocolate covered strawberries. For more control, I like to use a squeeze bottle.
- The final chill – Once each strawberry has been drizzled, place them back into the fridge to set up for another 30 to 40 minutes. Or, allow them to set up for about 1 hour at room temp. I do recommend allowing them to set up in the fridge. They are best when the strawberries are chilled.
- To serve – Once the chocolate is completely set, and hardened on the strawberries, they can be served immediately.
- Store – the strawberries are best when eaten the same day they are made, however, they are still pretty good 1 to 2 days after. To store them, place them in an air-tight container that is lined with paper towels. It is best if they are stored in a single layer. Place the lid on top, slightly askew. It is helpful to allow an moisture build up to escape so they chocolate doesn’t get soggy. Store in the fridge.
Notes
bittersweet chocolate – I recommend using a good quality bar of chocolate for this recipe, not chocolate chips. A baking chocolate bar is ideal. A bar of chocolate will melt better, and set up better than chocolate chips. Plus, there are so few ingredients in this recipe, it’s important to help them all shine by using the best quality ingredients.
using other chocolates – you can sub the bittersweet chocolate for milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, or even all white chocolate, if that is what you prefer. Keep in mind, your end result will be much sweeter, and alter the nutrition facts.
Strawberries – it is helpful to try to get strawberries that have a lot of green stem/leaves on them. The green leaves are the handle for dipping the strawberries into the chocolate, and for eating them.
White chocolate – Same with the bittersweet chocolate, I recommend buying a high quality white chocolate bar. I found that white chocolate chips did not melt at all. I recommend Ghirardelli white chocolate bar. I also found it helpful to melt the white chocolate using the double boiler method rather than the microwave. You can easily omit the white chocolate drizzle, if you prefer. Or, you could swap it with a milk chocolate drizzle.
Decorate with sprinkles – If making these for kids/with them, it could be a fun option to decorate the strawberries with sprinkles. You will want to add the sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.
Dairy free/vegan – to make this recipe dairy free/vegan, make sure to get a good quality bittersweet chocolate bar that is vegan/dairy free. For the white chocolate, I can’t recommend a substitute, because the white chocolate chips I tried were vegan and they did not melt. If you already know of a vegan white chocolate that works, then go for it, otherwise I would omit it.
