Surprise your special someone with homemade chocolate covered strawberries this Valentine’s Day. Chocolate covered strawberries are romantic, elegant, scrumptious and sexy.
Edible Arrangements,with locations in Amherst, Depew and Orchard Park, offers a $45 box of one dozen chocolate covered cherries, which you can have delivered for $12 or pick up at any location free of charge. Shari’s Berries offers one dozen chocolate covered strawberries for approximately $40, which includes delivery charges.
You can buy fresh, whole strawberries for chocolate covered strawberries and pay less than $3 per pound. You’ll want to use good quality dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolate to make chocolate covered strawberries. You’ll need one 12-ounce bag of chips for each pound of strawberries you want to make. Fresh, whole strawberries will cost approximately $3 per pound at local Western New York area markets.
Western New York shoppers can find all the ingredients for this recipe at local retailers:
- Budwey’s Markets (see website for location nearest you)
- Tops Markets (see website for location nearest you)
- Wegmans (see website for location nearest you)
You can give chocolate covered strawberries a fancier look by drizzling melted white chocolate over the hardened chocolate. After drizzling the white chocolate, let the strawberries rest another 30 to 60 minutes until the white chocolate hardens.
Chocolate covered strawberries recipe
Ingredients:
- 12-ounces (2 cups) dark chocolate or milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons butter or vegetable shortening
- 1 pound fresh, whole strawberries
- Toothpicks
- Wax paper
Directions:
- Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries.
- Add the strawberries to a colander and rinse under cool water to remove any dirt or grit. Spread out paper towels on a flat surface and place rinsed and drained strawberries on paper towels to dry. Let the strawberries dry completely, carefully patting dry with paper towels if necessary. The strawberries need to be completely dry or the melted chocolate will seize and will not coat the strawberries properly.
- In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
- Turn the strawberries upside down and place them on a sheet of wax paper; wait for chocolate to cool completely and harden, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Remove toothpicks before serving.
Rachael’s recipe notes:
- You can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but you’ll need to be careful not to burn it.
- Add half the chocolate to a large microwave safe bowl with half the butter. Microwave the chocolate on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir melting chocolate and return to the microwave. Microwave the chocolate on 50% power for another 15 seconds. Stir melting chocolate and return to microwave. Repeat until chocolate is completely melted. Repeat with the rest of the chocolate and butter in another large microwave safe bowl.
- Working with the chocolate and butter in two batches ensures that the chocolate will melt evenly and not burn or scorch. It also allows you to work in small batches with the whole, fresh strawberries without the chocolate hardening or seizing up while you are making chocolate covered strawberries.
- You can substitute 6-ounces (1 cup) white chocolate chips for half the chocolate chips. Coat half the strawberries in melted chocolate and half the strawberries in melted white chocolate. When plating, alternate chocolate covered strawberries and white chocolate covered strawberries on the serving plate. Give the white chocolate covered strawberries a fancier look by drizzling them with melted chocolate.
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