recipe: chocolate dipped strawberries

Reprint with permission
11-Feb-2014 pairforthecourse.com blog

photo by Jane Phillips, Santa Fe New Mexican

If there is a dessert or a fruit that says "I love you," "I like you a lot," or "You are special," that dessert is a fruit ~ a strawberry dipped in silky smooth chocolate. Whether you are giving them as a gift, a sweet morsel for your sweetheart, a treat for the family there is something really special about juicy, red strawberries hand-dipped in decadent chocolate.

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recipe

Ingredients

4 - 6 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate, coarse chopped

1 pound strawberries {about 20}, washed and patted dry

2 - 3 drops of your favorite essential oil {Wild Orange, Peppermint, Lavender, even some exotic flavors such as Myrrh}

photo by Jane Phillips, Santa Fe New Mexican

Tip for using essential oils for flavoring
If you want to create a medley of different flavors, prepare two or three smaller saucepans and stainless bowls. Add essential oils {one drop at a time} to each small batch of melted chocolate. If you are experimenting with a flavor combination you haven't tried, use just a toothpick of the essential oil in a small ramekin to do a taste test.

Please be sure to ONLY use pure, therapeutic/culinary-grade essential oils. Contact me at joanlucci@gmail.com to find out what I use ~ I'll share how you can buy these essential oils at wholesale prices!

Instructions
using the double-boiler method

Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Course chop the chocolate or roughly shave with a vegetable peeler. 
Put the chocolate pieces or shavings into a heatproof glass or stainless bowl. Set aside.

When the water is boiling, turn off the heat and set the chocolate filled bowl of chocolate on top of the saucepan. Stir and fold with a heat-proof rubber spatula until most of the chocolate is melted. Remove from the top of the warm pan, and continue stirring and folding until the chocolate is completely melted and is smooth and glossy.

Hold a strawberry by the stem end, dip the berry into the chocolate. Give it a twist over the pan of chocolate; let the excess drip off back into the pan, gently slide the side of the berry that will be resting on baking sheet against the edge of the bowl (to avoid the foot that sometimes form), and and transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet. Continue until all the berries are dipped.

Refrigerate for at least 30-minutes to firmly set the chocolate.

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Instructions
microwave method

Using a microwave to melt the chocolate works well too but there is less control and greater risk of overheating the chocolate.

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe glass bowl, set the microwave for 30-seconds, stir, repeat until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Continue stirring until fully melted, smooth, and glossy.

Notes
Chocolate dipped strawberries are best consumed same day, but will stay fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Dress up your strawberries by rolling in fine chopped nuts, sprinkles, coconut or drizzling with a contrasting white chocolate (which is actually not chocolate), dark chocolate, or milk chocolate using either method described above to melt your chocolate.

wine pairing

Our resident sommelier, Derek Werner, recommends, as an elegant pairing with our chocolate dipped strawberries, a sparkling rosé with fruit notes. Two suggestions: H. Billiot Fils Brut Rosé  is a grower's champagne and excellent choice ~ retails for about $55. As a more affordable and accessible alternative, Mumm Napa Brut Rosé at $18 - $25.