Chocolate Covered Strawberries

We’re coming up on strawberry season and there are few foods that are as enticing or as pretty as chocolate covered strawberries.

We dipped about 75 strawberries for the vegan baby shower we just hosted and they were a hit. The best thing about chocolate covered strawberries is that they are extremely EASY to make. The only trick is to make sure you heat the chocolate properly to avoid discoloration. Discoloration in chocolate does not have an effect on the edibility or the taste, but it doesn’t look so nice, so just follow the easy steps below to temper your chocolate properly.

The Recipe

1 to 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bittersweet)

1 pound of strawberries (with stems on)

Instructions:

1. Choose vegan chocolate chips or chocolate bar chopped in small pieces. Enjoy Life has a vegan chocolate chip that works well, or Whole Foods brand, or Trader Joe’s has a chocolate chip that is vegan. Any vegan chocolate should work well. I usually use semisweet, but you could use bittersweet if you prefer a more bitter, darker chocolate.

2. In a double boiler (I use a small pot with water in it and set a small metal mixing bowl into the top of the pot), add 2/3 of the chocolate chips. On low-medium heat, melt the chocolate over the double boiler, stirring occasionally. As soon as it is mostly melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate. This is an easy ‘cheater’ way to temper chocolate without going through more complex methods of doing so. WARNING: Be careful not to get any water in the chocolate. Water will cause the chocolate to seize up and you’ll have a mini-disaster on your hands.

3. When the chocolate is completely melted, hold each strawberry by its stem/leaves and dip about half way to two thirds of the way into the chocolate. Let excess chocolate drip off, and then place the strawberries on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Let cool completely and then refrigerate. You can make them the night before and keep them in the fridge until ready to serve.  

4. Voila! The perfect thing for a late spring/early summer special occasion without hours of laboring over a complicated recipe.

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