Tuxedo Strawberries

I have a bit of an obsession with chocolate-dipped fruit, especially strawberries.  I think it’s because I feel as though I’m eating fruit, so it must be healthy!  And if you use milk chocolate, you’re getting dairy, as well…or, as everyone knows, dark chocolate contains antioxidants, so that’s another health benefit. You’re welcome for that rationalization.

I’m always surprised at the price of chocolate-dipped strawberries at candy stores, though.  I mean, you can make a dozen at home for what you’d pay for one already made for you. And they’re so simple!

These Tuxedo Berries look like you spent hours on them, but (shhh!) you really won’t need to!  I made three dozen for the teachers last week in less time that it would have taken to make cookies. Really. Less than an hour.

To make them, you’ll need strawberries, white chocolate, a bit of vegetable oil, and milk or dark chocolate chips.

First of all, wash the strawberries and let them dry completely.  I wash them while the kids are eating breakfast and let them sit a few hours, until I’m ready to dip them.  And then I still give each a quick dry with a dishtowel before dipping them.  If there’s even a drop of water in your chocolate, it will seize up and become all clumpy. Ugh. And you can’t salvage it.

Melt the white chocolate according to the package directions.  I melted mine in a glass bowl in the microwave, adding about a teaspoon of vegetable oil and heating it only 30 seconds at a time, so it wouldn’t get too hot.  Dip the front of each berry into the melted white chocolate and place on a parchment (or wax paper)-lined pan to set.

These set quite quickly…by the time I was done dipping, they were hard enough to go ahead and melt the dark or milk chocolate, again according to package directions.  This melts much better than white chocolate, which can be tricky for me.

Once your chocolate is smooth and melted, dip one side, then the other, of each berry in it. Set the berries back on the parchment to harden.

Use a fine-tipped paintbrush to add buttons and a bow-tie to each berry, while the chocolate in the bowl is still melted. Practice the bowties a couple of times on the parchment if you’re worried…just make two triangles, touching at the points.

These are even more impressive if you can find long-stemmed berries, but that wasn’t possible in my neck of the woods, so I made do with what I had!