Chocolate Covered Strawberries: Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Yes, Virginia, just about anything can be Covered in Chocolate. Although December 16 is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, I think this holiday can easily be celebrated all year round.  One of my favorites is Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Simple to make, and they always look fabulous. You can stuff them or drizzle them, but fresh strawberries dunked in good quality chocolate is the key. 

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES TO DIE FOR!

INGREDIENTS:
1 quart fresh large fresh strawberries, with tops
1 cup Dark Chocolate 60-65% cacao, broken or chopped
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate 72-85% cacao, broken or chopped
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
White chocolate, melted for Drizzle

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse strawberries and dry thoroughly, keeping tops on. In top of double boiler or a stainless steel bowl atop a pot of simmering water, combine chocolate and heavy cream. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Dip strawberries 1/2-3/4 way up in chocolate mixture and place on waxpaper or parchment lined cookie sheet to allow chocolate to harden.
When hardened, drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Hints:
Wash strawberries and pat dry with paper towels; set aside. Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. A drop of water in melted chocolate can cause it to "seize" and turn the entire mixture into a mess. How to smooth out the chocolate: I just saw a chef add a tiny bit of honey and stirred. It worked!

How to dip:
Grasp stem of strawberry and dip into chocolate, swirling to partially cover with chocolate. Give the strawberry a small shake as you pull it out of the chocolate. When strawberry is completely out of chocolate, swirl it in quick, clockwise motion to let excess chocolate drip off. Place on cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment. Repeat withrest of the strawberries.

Want to get a bit fancier? Here are links to Chocolate Covered Stuffed Strawberries.

Chocolate Covered  Stuffed Strawberries: Cookie Dough, Cheesecake, Marscapone

Strawberrries Stuffed with Chocolate Cream

Strawberries Stuffed with Chocolate Cream: Strawberry & Cream Day

Today is National Strawberries and Cream Day! I knew I had to find a way to add "chocolate" cream. Strawberries can be stuffed with all kinds of things that make them even more wonderful. I posted a recipe for Strawberries stuffed with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cheesecake, Tiramasu or Marscapone  all of which also included dipping the strawberries in chocolate first. So for Strawberries and Cream Day, I thought Strawberries with Chocolate Cream Stuffing would be perfect. I've made these many times, and there are lots of variations, of course, depending on the chocolate you choose and if you use Kahlua or Cream (or another liqueur). This recipe is adapted from both  RecipeZaar and Yummly,  two great sites for you to check out!

STRAWBERRIES STUFFED WITH CHOCOLATE CREAM

24-36 strawberries
1 cup dark chocolate (65-75%), chopped
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream or kahlua
4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
14 cup powdered sugar

Wash berries, cut off stems and hollow out a bit to resemble a small cup.
Place chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips, if that's what you have) and Cream or Kahlua in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on high. If not melted continue for 10 seconds each time until melted.
Set aside until cooled just a bit.
In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy.
Add chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat until combined.
Put the finished mixture into a Ziploc or pastry bag and fill strawberries. Heap the chocolate onto the top a bit and finish with a swirl :-).
Put strawberries in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Photo: Yummly

Chocolate Strawberry Muffins

I love Strawberries, and they're everywhere right now. There's even a guy selling fabulous looking flats of strawberries on the street corner. Now that may seem normal to you, but I live in the back of beyond, and there really aren't any street corners per se. However, there's an intersection about 1/2 mile from me which is the back way into Berkeley.

Today is National Pick Strawberries Day, so I think I'll "pick" up a flat from the guy on the corner. and make these muffins. It's an easy recipe. You can add dark chocolate or white chocolate, but I prefer dark chocolate. I tend to chop the strawberries and chocolate into chunks, but that's always up to you. You may want to use chocolate chips, if that's what you have on hand. You can also use frozen strawberries in place of fresh, but if you do, don't thaw them. Just chop up the frozen ones and add to the batter.

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweet butter
1 cup yogurt
1 egg
1/4 tsp Madagascar vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (in chunks)
9-12 strawberries chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F
Melt butter in pan.
In a bowl, beat egg, baking soda, and vanilla together, then add yogurt and beat until frothy.
In a separate bowl combine flour and sugar.
Pour butter into dry ingredients. Stir until crumbly. Set aside 1/2 cup of  mixture for topping.
Add wet and dry ingredients together. Stir until combined.
Fold in chopped chocolate and chopped strawberries.
Spoon batter into greased or paper lined muffin tin (12 regular)
Sprinkle reserved topping on uncooked muffins.
Bake for 20 minutes.