Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Chocolate-covered strawberries are a wonderfully decadent treat for a party or special occasion. You can actually make them at home quite easily by following these step-by-step instructions.

1. Choose large, ripe strawberries of approximately equal size to one another. If possible, purchase strawberries with an inch of the stem still attached, which will make it easier to dip them in chocolate.

2. Gently wash the strawberries, pat them dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towel and set them on a tray covered in paper towels. Wait until the strawberries are room temperature and completely dry before proceeding with the rest of the steps.

3. Prepare a pan for the chocolate covered strawberries by covering a cookie sheet or baking pan with wax paper or parchment paper.

4. Chop 6 ounces of high-quality dark or milk chocolate per pound of strawberries. Chunks of chocolate should measure no more than 1/2 inch in any direction to help them melt evenly.

5. Melt the chocolate using one of two methods:

• Put chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds at a time on half power, stirring after each heating, until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted.
• Heat water in the bottom of a double boiler until it is simmering. Put the chocolate chunks in the top of the double boiler and stir constantly until they are melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, set a metal or glass bowl over a saucepan of water, but be careful to not let any water into the top bowl.

6. Hold a strawberry by the stem or the top of the berry. Dip the strawberry into your bowl of chocolate and gently swirl it around to coat. Then pull the strawberry straight up out of the chocolate and hold it over the bowl for a few seconds until any last drips of chocolate have come off.

7. Set the strawberry on the prepared sheet and slide it forward about 1/4 inch toward the tip to reduce the chance of chocolate pooling around the tip in an unsightly way. This slide will make it so the chocolate-covered strawberry is sitting on a streak of chocolate. Make sure only the area of the strawberry dipped in chocolate is sitting on the chocolate streak.

8. Refrigerate the tray of chocolate covered strawberries for 15 to 30 minutes to set the chocolate. However, do not refrigerate berries for more than an hour. Doing so could cause condensation to appear on the surface of the chocolate.

Don’t feel like making your own chocolate covered treats? We suggest trying our chocolate smothered graham crackers – they are sure to satisfy any chocolate craving.