How To Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

I love everything about chocolate-covered strawberries. I love the crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth shell and the cool, sweet strawberry beneath. I love giving them as presents, and I love receiving them equally as much. And I especially love how easy they are to make at home — it’s an afternoon project with a result that looks fancy no matter your candy-making skills (or lack thereof)!

With a project as simple as this — “take strawberry, dip in chocolate” — the ingredients you use can really make a difference. You can certainly do this with your average bag of chocolate chips and basket of grocery store strawberries, and in fact, that’s a great idea for a rainy day project with kids. But if you really want to up the ante, spring for the fancy chocolate and pick up some super-ripe farmers market strawberries. It will really make a difference.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.

While none of the techniques used here are overly complicated, here’s a little more information about some of them if you’d like the extra help!

Ingredients:

• 1 pint fresh strawberries (about 1 pound)
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate (3 ounces), for drizzling (optional)