Chocolate-covered strawberries are gorgeous on a dessert platter alone or as an accompaniment. The crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth shell combined with the juicy sweet strawberry beneath makes a delicious dessert after any meal or as a snack! I especially love how easy they are to make at home and it doesn't matter if you have skills in the kitchen. It is important to know, the difference in taste is in the quality of the strawberries. Always take time to find the best strawberries! The only other trick to making chocolate-covered strawberries is that the strawberries must be very, very dry. If you have any water left from rinsing or any sticky bruised areas, the coating doesn't "stick" to the strawberry as well. Drops of water can also make your chocolate seize up and become grainy as you dip. After rinsing the strawberries, I recommend patting them dry and then laying them out on a clean dish towel until they are completely dry. Also, Chocolate drizzles make wonderful presents.
Ingredients
6 ounces dark or semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips
3 ounces Ghirardelli white chocolate chips
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well
Grape seed oil, gives the chocolate a shiny finish
Directions
1. Put the dark or semisweet in a heatproof medium bowls, add a drop of grape seed oil to the chocolate. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively and my preferred method is to melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)
2. Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark/semisweet chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.
3. There are several methods used to drizzle the white chocolate over the strawberries. Experiment by dipping a fork in the white chocolate and drizzling the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries. II find it easiest to melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl as directed above in the microwave. Stir every 15 seconds until the chocolate is smooth and shiny. (You can also use a double-boiler on the stove-top.) Transfer the chocolate to a to a plastic bag by using a spatula to scrape all the melted chocolate into a plastic bag and use your fingers to squeeze it into one corner. Snip off a corner of the bag with a scissors. The smaller the snip, the more thin your line of chocolate will be and the easier it will be to control. Hold the bag with the corner upright so the chocolate doesn't drip out after you snip. Squeeze the bag from from the top down to push the chocolate out in a steady drizzle. Use big sweeps, moving back and forth over the whole baking sheet.
4. Set strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes and then place in refrigerator to set further. Dipped strawberries can be kept for a few hours at room temperature and can also be refrigerated for a few days.
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