Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

My family knows better than anyone that I go weak at the knees for chocolate. Come Easter time, I’m forever sneaking into my kids’ baskets to snatch a chocolate egg or nip an end off a bunny’s ear. But after a week or so I start to get twitchy about sugar overload in the house.

When my kids were tiny, I started a post-Easter tradition to address surplus chocolate that has become a favorite family ritual. After the kids have had their fill of miniature milk chocolate lambs and hollow bittersweet bunnies, we pile our collective haul into a double boiler. It all gets melted down and then paired with Spring’s best strawberries for a dipping extravaganza. With strawberry season coinciding perfectly with Easter, the timing couldn’t be better.

When I first proposed this crafty answer to chocolate excess I thought the kids might take offense to melting down their beloved bunnies. On the contrary, they seem to delight in watching the magic that happens when heat is applied to chocolate. It’s important to be sure the berries are thoroughly dried after washing so the chocolate adheres.

If you don’t have leftover bunnies, or don’t celebrate Easter, it’s worth scaring up some chocolate for this anyway. Chocolate dipped berries may be passé in gourmet circles, but in kid circles, they still rank pretty high. And as far as desserts go, it’s not all bad – a few nutrients, not a ton of calories, and antioxidants if you are opting for dark chocolate.

As for any leftover Peeps you might have leftover from Easter?  There is nothing remotely nutritious about them, but you can tuck them away for summer’s first cookout in lieu of marshmallows. Spear them onto branches to toast over a camp fire, making sure your little guys let them cool before popping them in their mouths.

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Chocolate Bunny-Covered Strawberries

Gather all your odd bits of leftover Easter chocolate, melt it down, and dip in Spring's best strawberries. They are best eaten within a day of being made and should be stored in the refrigerator. If you don't have a proper double boiler, you can mimic one by finding two pots that are relatively close in size and can sit one just inside the other.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces chocolate
• 1½ baskets fresh strawberries , washed and thoroughly dried

Instructions

1. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces that are relatively uniform in size and put in the top of a double boiler.
3. Fill the bottom of the double boiler one-third full of water. Bring to a gentle boil.
4. Set the top of the double boiler over the boiling water and heat until the chocolate melts completely, stirring from time-to-time.
5. Remove the double boiler from the heat. Hold each strawberry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate, and set it on the baking sheet to cool. You may need to reheat the chocolate if it starts to firm up.
6. Allow the chocolate strawberries to cool completely.

featured photo from Shutterstock