Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Strawberries are so great because they're so simple. The tangy strawberry perfectly compliments sweet milk or dark chocolate. There are many ways to make these, and few rules. This is how I like to make them.

Late summer, early fall seems to offer the best strawberries, with big leafy green tops like pictured above. But you can find strawberries in the supermarket year round and because we're dipping them in chocolate it doesn't really matter if they're a little sour. I buy my strawberries (you guessed it) from Costco, the packages are humongous and usually good quality. I only use half the box for this recipe.

2 pints strawberries-make sure they're firm and dry. Mushy ones won't carry the chocolate well, and if you dip wet strawberries the chocolate will fall off.
1 bag chocolate chips-I know, I know, culinary savvy people resent chocolate "chips". You can use baking chocolate if you like but I like chocolate chips because they have a stabilizer in them which allows the product to be comfortably left at room temperature without falling apart. I'm very partial to Guittard's chocolate chips, but Nestle works great too. Dark or milk, doesn't matter, keep who you're serving in mind.
1/2 c white chocolate chips-this is for looks. I drizzle them over the top or give them polka dots. Not necessary but definitely adds something to the final product.

Melt the chocolate. There's a million and one ways to do this. I'm lazy and use a microwave (again, the culinary students are cringing). BUT I do it CAREFULLY. I only put the chocolate in for 30 second increments and rigorously stir with a whisk between (the trick to shiny chocolate is stirring). Melt the chocolate in a deep bowl, it makes it easier to dip the berries later. When you've melted it to the point that there's a few lumps in the bowl, stir and allow the residual heat to melt the rest of the chocolate. This will ensure you don't burn your chocolate. (If it gets chalky and muddy, you've burned it. Throw it out and start over.)

Have a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ready. Dip the berries into the chocolate...very uncomplicated. Set it on the tray. Once you've used up all the berries, melt the white chocolate. Dip the tongs of a fork into the white chocolate and drizzle over the top.

Tips: Don't dip the berries too far in advance. As they sit, the juice from the berry begins to secret into the chocolate. They're still good, but a mess. Also, store them in a fridge if it'll be a couple hours before serving. This keeps the chocolate firmly attached to the berry. Don't serve them cold (cold chocolate tastes like wax), set them out at room temp 15 minutes before serving.