This isn’t really a recipe post as much as an excuse for me to make chocolate covered strawberries. Growing up in the 80s, chocolate strawberries were the ultimate “fancy food”. My mom, who is a great cook, mastered these at home before they had gone mainstream. She could perfectly temper chocolate, enrobing the first strawberries of spring with silken perfection. The fact that under the chocolate was fruit was simply a bonus. We were quite swanky.
Many a day I would come home from school/swim practice/cross country/dramatic teenage girl poetry writing to find a batch of beautiful strawberries air drying on a rack on the canary yellow laminate countertop. I’d grab a couple, or more if the poetry was super heavy, and eat them lying upside down on the stairs. Because our house was very Brady-esque, our open-concept staircase was the perfect place to lounge in full view of anyone who happened to be home and might want to hear me read a poem (almost always, no one).
Since those days of teen angst (and the ability to lie upside down on a staircase without herniating a disk), I still crave a regular dose of chocolate covered strawberries. Lucky for all of us, they are incredibly easy and quick. So, today, when I see companies advertising chocolate covered strawberries at four dollars apiece, I’m gobsmacked. Really? Of all the delectable desserts out there, these are some of the easiest to make – no blending, no measuring, no baking. There are really only three rules to chocolate strawberry mastery.
- Use good chocolate.
- Use firm, ripe strawberries.
- Temper the chocolate correctly.
Bam. It’s really not complicated.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
1 pint container of ripe, firm strawberries (washed and VERY dry)
2 cups good chopped chocolate – dark or milk (milk is better if your strawberries are tart; dark is better if your strawberries are sweet) or chocolate chips
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Tempering the chocolate: Put about an inch of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
Put your chocolate into a separate heatproof bowl or smaller saucepan that will fit into your saucepan, but will not touch the boiling water.
Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally to remove any lumps. When the chocolate is just melted, remove from heat (if you let it go too long, it will become grainy).
Set up an assembly line: DRY strawberries, melted chocolate, baking sheet.
Holding a strawberry by its stem, dip it into the melted chocolate and twirl until it is evenly coated. Lift from the chocolate and let the excess drip back into the bowl. Place the covered strawberry on the baking sheet.
Repeat until all are covered.
Place tray of strawberries into the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens.
Write an angsty poem and try to read it to your kids while they eat the strawberries as payment for this delicious treat.
Mom, ultrarunner, four-time US 24 Hour National Team member, adventure athlete, food writer. Graduate of the Pro Cooking Program at the New School of Cooking, Los Angeles. Will run for food.
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