How To Make Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

By : jane lake

This surprisingly simple recipe to make chocolate dipped strawberries has some expert tips to help you achieve the best possible results.
Once the strawberries are coated with chocolate, you can decorate them with valentine sprinkles or, once the first layer of chocolate is dry, you can drizzle the strawberries with a contrasting chocolate color.
However you serve them, valentine chocolate dipped strawberries are a perfect offering for any valentine.
Chocolate dipped strawberries recipe

Ingredients:
1 pint of perfectly ripened strawberries with stems and leaves intact
About 4 ounces of chocolate chips - dark, white, milk or even chocolate mint flavors
Microwavable bowl and microwave
Cookie sheet covered in wax paper
Optional: valentine sprinkles, small candies, contrasting color of melted chocolateChoc-berries3 (7k)

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.
Wash strawberries and pat dry, leaving stems and leaves intact. Strawberries should be completely dry before proceeding with the recipe.
Melt valentine chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl, using the defrost setting (or 10% power). Heat for 90 seconds, then stir; repeat until the chocolate has just melted and can be stirred smoothly. (chocolate goes from melted to burned very quickly, so monitor the procedure and remove the chocolate from the microwave as soon as melting is complete.)
Hold a strawberry by the stem and leaves and dip it into the melted chocolate. Withdraw the strawberry and swirl it in a tight circle to spin off excess chocolate. If desired, shake sprinkles or small candies over the wet chocolate coating.
Place the chocolate dipped strawberry on the wax paper and set aside to dry. A cool room temperature is preferable for drying. Repeat with the remainder of the strawberries, reheating chocolate for a short time, if necessary, to keep the coating consistency.
If possible, dip and serve the strawberries on the same day. Once dry, you can place each strawberry in a small paper candy cup.

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Why Chocolate For Valentine's Day ?

Valentine’s day is many things to different people- a chance to start new relationships, rekindle old ones, or remind that special someone how wonderful they really are. Others feel it is just another “hallmark” holiday where they are expected to do something for unknown reasons. Regardless of your hopes, expectations, or reservations about valentine’s day, chocolate has long been a favorite gift for lovers.

Since the days of the aztecs chocolate has been used as a valentine chocolate gift. Today a box of luxurious quality chocolate says a thousand “thank you’s”, “good luck”, or “i love you”. Chocolate can be given as a way of saying “congratulations”, “i am sorry” or “get well soon”. On valentine’s day chocolate clearly says “i love you!” Chocolate is more than food, it not only fills your belly but also makes you feel soooo good. Elaine sherman wrote “chocolate is heavenly, mellow, sensual, deep, dark, sumptuous, gratifying, potent, dense, creamy, seductive, suggestive, rich, excessive, silky, smooth, luxurious, celestial. Chocolate is downfall, happiness, pleasure, love, ecstasy, fantasy … chocolate makes us wicked, guilty, sinful, healthy, chic, happy.” What more could you want to say to your lover on valentines day? Even the scientific name for the tree from which chocolate is derived, theobroma cacao, translated from greek, means “food of the gods”.
Why does chocolate evoke so many feelings and emotions for us? Valentine chocolate has long been associated with passion, romance and love. This association may go all the way back to the aztecs. They believed chocolate was a source of spiritual wisdom, incredible energy and elevated sexual power. Chocolate was widely used as a nuptial aid and was widely served at wedding ceremonies. The aztecs did not know chocolate as we do today; they consumed the cocoa as a drink. Reports indicate that the emperor montezuma consumed large quantities of the drink every day and always fortified himself with a cup before entertaining his harem. The explorer cortes reported to carlos i of spain that chocolate is “… the divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink enables a man to walk for a whole day without food.” From the earliest times, chocolate was considered a substance of power and a source of vitality
Chocolate has been a subject of study since the first shipment from veracruz arrived in spain in 1585. But modern science has made some interesting findings that may help explain our lust for quality chocolate. Chocolate contains organic substances known as alkaloids. The most important of these substances is theobromine, which works as a stimulant to the kidneys.

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