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The Best Chocolate Dipped Strawberries – a guide on how to prepare strawberries for dipping, how to choose the best chocolate and store them. Quick and easy way to make beautiful chocolate covered strawberries for holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or any celebration.

Chocolate dipped strawberries on paper liners

My family loves chocolate covered strawberries and I make these all the time. We don’t need a special occasion fo make and enjoy these beauties.

There are a lot of places you can purchase dipped and decorated strawberries for a special event or just to treat yourself or a loved one. But let’s be honest, the price point is ridiculous. And I do understand shopping for experiences, but what a dipped strawberry costs at least $1 and often even more, you make them yourself at home. Or at least I do.

What ingredients do I need to make for chocolate covered strawberries?

The two main ingredients you need are:

strawberries
melting or couverture chocolate
sprinkles (optional)

chocolate dipped strawberries on a plate

How to make The Best Chocolate Dipped Strawberries?

Rinse strawberries under cold water and immediately dry with paper towels. Use a patting motion, don’t press and squeeze the berries. Let them stand at room temperature, while you prepare the chocolate.
Set a double boiler, by filling a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water, or fill it until 1/4 way full. Place a heatproof bowl over the top. The bowl should be large enough to sit on top if the pot, does not sink and shouldn’t be touching the water.
Heat the water over medium heat, bring to a boil and immediately lower the heat to the lowest setting. Add the chocolate. Let it melt slowly, stiffing with a spatula to make sure there are no thick pieces.
Alternatively melt the chocolate in the microwave in 5-10 second increments, checking and stirring in between to make sure it is melted.
Remove the bowl with chocolate from the double boiler (microwave) and put over a towel.
Dip strawberries and let them drip, then place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Top with sprinkles (optional), while the chocolate is not set yet.
Another option for decorating is to fill a piping or a zip lock bag with chocolate of different color and drizzle over the strawberries.
Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Keep in the fridge in a air-tight container for up to 3 days.

chocolate covered strawberries on a white plate

What type of chocolate is best for chocolate covered strawberries?

I’d say the better quality the chocolate it, the more delicious the final result will be. Yes, baking chocolate orks. High quality couverture chocolate also works.

I even used stevia sweetened dark chocolate for the low-carb version of these and it turned out awesome.

I recommend that you choose the chocolate, depending on the occasion.

You can use either dark, semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate.

Can you use chocolate chips for dipped strawberries?

Yes, any type of baking chocolate chips will work. Again, make sure you choose a good quality one. Ghirardelli has great chocolate chips that are great for melting.

There are also some good Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers that work great for dipping.

Is it possible to use candy melts to dip strawberries into?

Have you seen those festive chocolate strawberries dipped in different colors of candy melts? While these look cute and work great for photos and celebrations, I personally find the taste of them too sweet and don’t like it.

How to melt chocolate for chocolate strawberries?

There are two main ways that I recommend when it comes to melting chocolate.

Double boiler
Microwave

I personally don’t use a microwave at this time and use double boiler.

Keep in mind that it is easier to burn chocolate in the microwave, if you let it in on high for too long. I recommend that you melt it in 5-10 second increments, stirring with a spatula in between each one. It usually takes me 3- 4 increments to get the chocolate smooth.

On instructions how to set a double boiler, check the recipe carb below. Double boiler is a way to indirectly heat the chocolate (or other ingredients), by placing them in a bowl, that is sitting over a saucepan filled with hot (not boiling) water.

Would you like your chocolate dipped strawberries to have a glossy finish?

Add 1/2 tsp of vegetable shortening, EZ thin or just vegetable oil to each 1 cup of chocolate you melt. It will thin slightly the melted chocolate and make it glossy.

Tips to make The Best Chocolate Dipped Strawberries:

Choose strawberries that are ripe, but firm at the same time (this is a hard one at times).
Let the strawberries sit at room temperature. They should not be out of the fridge, because once dipped in the wark chocolate, it won’t stick.
Wash and thoroughly dry the berries. Let them sit at room temperature while you melt the chocolate.
Choose a good quality melting chocolate.
Temper the chocolate. This techinque is used to ensure that the chocolate hardens properly and does not remain soft, once it covers the strawberries. To temper the chocolate, when melting over a double boiler, add 3/4 of the chocolate to the bowl and melt. Then once melted, add the remaining chocolate and stir. When using a microwave, melt 3/4 of the chocolate on the microwave and then stir in the rest of it. It will melt because of the heat from the already melted chocolate.
Add a little shortening or vegetable oil to the chocolate while melting for extra gloss and shine.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge. You can put strawberries over paper cupcake liners, inside the container, so if they leak, the liners will catch the liquid.

Wait, my chocolate is not melting properly.

The Best Chocolate Dipped Strawberries on a plate

There are several reasons, but the main ones are that there was water present in the bowl, which usually makes the chocolate a hard, not runny texture. You also may have burned the chocolate, by using too high heat.

If adding a little shortening or vegetable oil does not help to make the chocolate smooth, you will have to start all over again with a new bag of chocolate.

Ideas on how to decorate Chocolate dipped strawberries:

festive sprinkles of your choice
chopped nuts
mini chocolate chips
drizzle with chocolate of different color
crushed candy canes for the holidays

How to store chocolate dipped strawberries?

Store these chocolate covered strawberries in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to place them on mini cupcake liners.

Can chocolate dipped strawberries be frozen?

No. Chocolate dipped strawberries should never be frozen, because they will leak over the chocolate, once defrosted.

More Valentine’s Day Recipes:

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