Brighten up the festivities on St. Patrick’s Day this year with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries. These little delights are enjoyed by many fruit and chocolate lovers. They are easy to prepare and another chance to get the children involved in the kitchen. They will have lots of fun dipping the berries into the chocolate and decorating the chocolate coating with little candies and designs.
Definitely crowd pleasers of a snack or an elegant looking after dinner dessert treat. Prepare an extra platter of these chocolate covered strawberries and give them as gifts to friends and family members to brighten their festive holiday while they bring home a little of the fun they had at your gathering. Guests will be impressed that you made them a parting gift.
Ingredients:
- 20-25 strawberries with stems still on
- 8 ounces chocolate
- (Milk, semi-sweet or white)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- Green food coloring or decorating gel
- Green décor candies or sprinkles
Directions:
- Wash the strawberries in cold water.
- Set aside on paper towels drain the excess water from them.
- Pat them dry if they are still quite damp.
- Use waxed paper or parchment paper to line a large cookie sheet.
- Using a low heat melt half the chocolate and oil in a small saucepan stirring constantly until the chocolate is smooth.
- Remove saucepan from stove and place the pan in a larger pot or bowl with hot water in it. This will keep the chocolate consistency warm and smooth.
- Dip the strawberries individually into the melted chocolate about 2/3 the way up.
- Hold each berry till the excess coating drips off and won’t leave a trail of chocolate on your counter top.
- Place the coated berries onto the paper lined cookie sheet.
- When all the strawberries are on the cookie sheet, place the tray in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. This will allow the chocolate to set properly.
- Repeat the above steps again and dip each chocolate covered berry a second time. When dipping this time make sure the berry is dipped slightly more than the first time. This will not only put a little more chocolate on the berry but also form a smooth line and adhere to the berry and not just the coating.
- Combine some green food coloring with the melted white chocolate to add stripes to the strawberries or use green decorating gel. Add green sprinkles or décor candies to the berries for that festive garnished look that fits the theme of the holiday.
- Return tray to refrigerate to set.
- Place on a serving tray or fancy platter and serve to your family.
- Enjoy!
Suggestions:
- Line the platter or dish with a paper lace doily for a fancy effect.
- If using white chocolate, you may want to add a little green food coloring to give the chocolate that Irish look before dipping.
- If you have children you may want to shake out some sprinkles on one side of the berry to give it an extra flare kids look for in a treat.
- Use caution when dipping into the hot melted chocolate.
- When children are assisting you in the dipping process make sure you are there to supervise them.
Jackson residents can shop at any of these local grocery stores Reeves Grocery, Stringers Grocery, J & M Grocery, Pick’n Save or Wal-mart for all the ingredients needed for this recipe.
© 2013 Beverly Mucha / All Rights Reserved
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