Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

The easy way - and fun decorating ideas too!

Learning to make chocolate covered strawberries is a really fun activity for all ages. These decorating projects (and any kind of dipping fruit in chocolate) make wonderful senior activity ideas. And it’s super easy to do. See our fun decorating ideas below too – but these do involve being able to work and handle smaller pieces.

Easy Dipping Method

By far, the easiest way to make chocolate covered strawberries is by using the ready-made microwavable dipping chocolate.

You need:
A tub (or two) of microwavable dipping chocolate, either dark or milk chocolate.
As many strawberries as you would like – one tub of chocolate will cover about 15 to 18 medium sized strawberries.

When you make chocolate covered strawberries, cover a plate or platter with wax paper, and set it aside. Wash the strawberries thoroughly, and pat dry. This is very important when dipping fruit in chocolate. Moisture will make the chocolate glob. Keep the leaves on, as they provide a means to grip the berry while dipping. Melt the dipping chocolate according to directions. When I make chocolate covered strawberries, I start out with 30 seconds in the microwave, take it out and stir, heat for 15 seconds, stir again, and repeat heating and stirring until it’s all melted. This is important to keep the chocolate from burning. In fact, it's best to have a few lumps in the chocolate and take the container out a little early, letting the rest melt on its own. Then cool slightly. If you overcook the chocolate and it gets stiff and thick, it is difficult to restore it. It sometimes works to stir in a couple drops of vegetable oil, if you do overcook it, depending on how "far gone" it is.

When you make chocolate covered strawberries, hold the berry by its leaves. Dip the pointed end into the chocolate, covering at least half of it. Place the strawberries on the wax papered platter. You can also add sprinkles, coconut, etc. while the chocolate is still soft. When done, put them into the fridge so the chocolate will harden – at least ½ hour. Remove just before serving. They can be transferred to a nicer serving platter without wax paper, if you'd like.

Fun Decorating

Tips: I use squirt frosting in tubes as "glue", or additional chocolate sauce. Many decorations are attached with half a toothpick.

Strawberry Faces
You can make chocolate covered strawberries into little faces by adding candy eyes and a mouth. Did you know they make colored markers out of food color? They have pointed tips, and a red one works wonderfully to draw on a mouth. For hats, use a little extra chocolate sauce like “glue” to attach them. Or, if you prefer, white frosting in a squirt tube makes great glue – but it is a contrast in color against the dark chocolate. The green leaf part is the top of the head, and the leaf looks a little like “hair” (or you can remove it as well) on which you put the hat. Hat items can include a dried apricot slice, a large chocolate drop candy, pastel mint, etc. Buy candy pieces in the bulk food section, so you can get just a few at a time – you don’t need a whole bag of one type of candy for this project.

Strawberry Mouse
Make chocolate covered strawberries into little mice. These are best with large strawberries, because of the size of the candies involved. Again, use small candies for the eyes and nose. A pink mini marshmallow or red hot dot make great noses. You can attach any sort of round, flat candy for the ears. I cut a small gum drop into flat pieces. Also try pastel mints (cut in half to make two ears). The tail can be a strip of licorice rope, 2 to 3 inches long, depending on your look. It can be carefully sliced length-wise in half to make it thinner. Depending on how you’re serving the strawberries, you can just lay the licorice rope under the berry, pressing it into the still soft chocolate, to simply achieve an effect of a tail – it does not necessarily have to be “attached.” It will adhere a little to the chocolate. Or, if the licorice rope is thick enough, attach it with a half a toothpick to the mouse’s backside. This only works if you have a large strawberry. I’ve also torn off a strip of string cheese to use for the tail instead. These mice look great served on top of a slice of cheese! Take care when you remove from the wax paper to transfer to the cheese. Try using a pie server to do the transfer.

Strawberry bugs
Again, I used a larger berry when I make chocolate covered strawberries into bugs. They can be used as a cute side addition to a fruit salad, and look best if there is a large leaf of lettuce under it. Make sure to dry the leaf well so the chocolate and berry won’t get gooey. If you want a head, take a toothpick and attach a gum drop or another berry, such as a raspberry, to the pointed end, which serves as a neck. If you have a really large strawberry, the head can be a small red grape. I just use colored toothpicks for antenna. The legs are toothpicks, pieces of thin licorice rope or string cheese, just placed underneath the body and slightly pressed into to chocolate. Use a pie server, as mentioned above, to transfer from the wax paper onto the slice of lettuce.

Strawberry Tower
It’s really easy to make this tower, and they look rather elegant. Make chocolate covered strawberries as usual. Cut off the bottom of a piece of fruit such as an apple (you can remove the core) or even an orange, so that it has a flat end to stand on. This will serve as a base. The base needs to be high enough and thick enough to firmly hold a skewer with the strawberries on it. (Of course, you can stretch your imagination to use any other type of base you can think of. I’ve seen them placed in very small glass bottles with small openings at the neck.) Now you simply stack three strawberries on top of each other, by pushing them onto a wooden skewer. A blueberry, raspberry, etc., can be inserted between the strawberries too, kabob style. Poke the skewer into its stand, so it will stay upright. If you’d like, you can drizzle a little more chocolate sauce over the entire tower. Or caramel sauce. At this point you can add sprinkles or coconut while the chocolate is still soft. Refrigerate as usual.

Special Notes:
When you make chocolate covered strawberries, it’s important to keep the strawberries refrigerated until serving, or the chocolate gets too soft, and the strawberries can get soggy if left out for too long. They will last for a few days, actually, but then the strawberries begin to get soft and mushy, even being kept in the fridge. Once you take them out, keep them away from warmth, including the sun, if you are outside. If you have a platter full, it is ideal to set your serving platter on a pan or serving tray filled with ice cubes, to keep them cold. Also, I tend to leave the leaves on the strawberries, because it makes them easier to pick up and eat, if you’re using them as finger-food desserts. If they’re being used as part of a salad or another dessert, it’s then optional to remove the leaves, depending on the look you want. Once you get going, you'll come up with all kinds of ideas of your own to make chocolate covered strawberries!

Make sure to also read these pages:

Chicken Chocolate Sauce -- A fabulous new Mexican recipe for your fiesta! Have your ever tried (or even heard of) chicken with chocolate sauce? Try this unique dish!
Delicious Healthy Dessert Recipes -- Our healthy dessert recipes are delicious and fresh -- including an amazing fresh strawberry pie. Lots of ways to modify and use these recipes too, including for low salt or sugar needs. Fun to make for either groups or individually. Check these out!
Fruit Nutrition Facts -- Did you know how good strawberries really are for you? Tons of nutrition! See all the info on how we can get fruit to do us a few favors. And eating it is fun.
Marzipan Recipe -- Marzipan is a clay-like sweet dough that you can mold into shapes, fruit and characters. Really easy to make and fun project to do in a group, with kids, or even just by yourself. See our ideas for its many uses too.
Super Easy Dipping Chocolate -- Dipping chocolate is very verstatile and makes a fun and yummy project you can eat! Learn how to make different kinds of dipping chocolate, use them on different food items (including giant pretzels), and more fun decorating and gift ideas. Perfect for elderly activities too.
Fun and Simple Fruit Salad -- Simple fruit salad is fun to make for all ages, and ours includes unique whimsical ideas, plus great fruit salad dressing!
Elderly Activities -- Have some fun! A wide range of activities, including for those who may have limitations or need special assistance. Includes indoors, outdoors, games, food projects, crafts.

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