Chocolate Covered Strawberries
There are traditions we intentionally put into practice and then there are those that happen by mere happenstance. Chocolate covered strawberries are one of those happy accidents of a family holiday tradition. Every year, we load up on strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to make our flag cake on the Fourth of July. It’s not remarkable in any way, the stripes and stars are often crooked and squished by little fingers, but it’s made remarkable by the celebratory way in which we make it. Inevitably we would have heaps of strawberries left over, so one year we decided to make chocolate covered strawberries. That was it, a tradition was born. Now the fourth just doesn’t feel right without chocolate smeared faces! It’s not a complicated recipe, but the addition of coconut oil, salt, and vanilla elevates it to be easier to eat with a hint of something you can’t put your finger on.
Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries, washed and dried
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions:
In a microwave or double boiler melt the chocolate with the coconut oil. and vanilla I like to make a double boiler using a medium bowl that just fits over a small pot with an inch of water in the bottom, creating a little pocket of steam under the bowl to gently melt the chocolate without danger of burning it. While it’s melting, line a few plates with parchment paper and set aside for later. When it’s melted, give it a good stir and move the bowl to your work station. I like to wrap a tea towel around the bowl so little hands don’t get surprised by the warm bowl! Take the strawberries by the green tops and dip the bottom in the chocolate mixture and give it a roll to coat on all sides. Lay it on it’s side on the parchment lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Continue until they’re all dipped. These are best stored in the fridge, but good luck getting them to last longer than a day! We gobble them all up long before the fireworks start going off.
