Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Who doesn't love chocolate dipped strawberries? And you can decorate them for any occasion. The amount of chocolate you need will really depend on the size of your strawberries. Start with 2 cups - you can always melt more. You can also use chocolate coating in a variety of colours. No need to add oil to that, just melt it over a double boiler and dip.

This is so clever! You can do the same thing for cake pops if the holes are big enough to hold the sticks.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

• 20 large strawberries with leaves
• 2 cups semi sweet or milk chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon canola oil/butter/shortening (whatever you like)
• White chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or any colour of chocolate coating for decorating
• Sprinkles and decorations (optional)
• Toothpicks

Directions

1. Wash and dry your strawberries. Drying is important. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. The chocolate won't stick if the strawberries are wet.
2. In a double boiler, melt your chocolate with oil until almost melted, then remove the pot from the heat. The rest will melt just from the heat already in the bowl. Stir it until all the chocolate is melted.
3. Insert toothpicks in the leafy end of each strawberry.
4. Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate and plant in the strainer to dry. I don't remember where I saw this, but what a clever trick! If you don't have a strainer with big enough holes, you can just place your strawberries on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry. They'll have a flat bottom but it doesn't really matter. You can put them in the fridge to speed things up if you want to.
5. Once the coating is dry, melt the coloured chocolate and drizzle it over the berries. Put some sprinkles on while the chocolate is still wet and let everything dry again.
6. Use paper muffin liners to make your tin or plate look pretty and keep the berries separate.