Valentine’s Day 2016: How To Make Dipping Chocolate For Strawberries, Cookies And Other Treats

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and one of the most popular treats people like to snack on is chocolate-covered strawberries and candies. Sure, you can head out to the store to pick up some of these delicious sweets or you can make them yourself at home with the 12 easy steps listed below.

To make this recipe (courtesy of Food Network) you will need:

About six ounces of semisweet chocolate. You could also use milk chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, and white chocolate to add decoration

Strawberries, cookies or whatever fruit/food you want dipped in chocolate

Medium heatproof bowl — could be metal or glass as long as it's heatproof

A saucepan

Waxed paper or parchment paper

Baking sheet

A spatula to stir the melted chocolate

Recipe:

There are two ways to melt the chocolate — the stovetop or microwave. Instructions for both are included below.

Stovetop:

1. Chop the chocolate into pieces to help it melt evenly.
2. Put the chocolate pieces into a medium heatproof bowl. If using both regular chocolate and white chocolate, use separate bowls.
3. Fill a saucepan (or two if using more than one chocolate) with a couple of inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
4. Turn off the heat and set the bowl of chocolate over the water to melt. Tip: the bowl should be big enough so that it doesn’t touch the water. You simply want the steam from the water to help slowly melt the chocolate.
5. Stir the melting chocolate until smooth.
6. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat and place bowl(s) on countertop.
7. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper and have it near the melted chocolate.
8. If you’re using strawberries, hold them by the stem and dip them into the chocolate, turning your hand so the chocolate covers the entire bottom portion. Remember, you can use any fruit, candy or cookies you want. Tip: When using fruit, make sure it’s completely dry before dipping into the melted chocolate to ensure the chocolate properly sticks.
9. Lift the food out of the melted chocolate and twist slightly, letting the excess chocolate fall back into the bowl.
10. Set the food on the parchment or waxed paper.
11. To add white chocolate on top for more decoration, dip a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle over the dipped fruit, cookies etc.
12. Set the dipped food aside to let the chocolate set and harden. It usually takes about 30 minutes.

Microwave:
Instead of using a stovetop, you can melt chocolate in the microwave. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above and then place the heatproof bowl in the microwave at half power for one minute. Stir and then heat for another minute or two until the chocolate is melted. Be careful not to overheat. Continue on to steps 6 through 12 above.