Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Serve these strawberries separately as a dessert, or as a garnish on cakes, custards, or puddings.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pint strawberries, with hulls intact, washed and dried

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Place the chocolate in a circle in a 1-quart microwaveproof bowl, adding the butter to the center; the butter will make the chocolate shiny. Cook on MEDIUM (50%) for 2 minutes; stir. Cook on MEDIUM (50%) for 30 seconds to 1 minute more, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Using the hull as a handle, partially dip the strawberries, twirling in chocolate. As much as possible, blace hull side down on a wax paper-lined sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden.

Variations:

Chocolate-Covered Cherries and Grapes: Substitute cherries or seedless grapes, with stems, for the strawberries.

Frozen Chocolate-Covered Banana Pieces: Eliminate the strawberries. Cut 2 to 3 bananas into eighteen to twenty-four 1-inch pieces, and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Insert a heavy-duty toothpick into each piece. Freeze the bananas for about 1 hour, or until frozen solid. Melt the chocolate as above and dip the frozen banana pieces in it. You may wish to roll the chocolate-dipped banana pieces in 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts. Place the bananas back onto the cookie sheet; re-freeze until the chocolate is hardened, about 30 minutes.

Note: Many other items, such as other fruits, pretzels, raisins, etc., can also be prepared this way. Also, for white chocolate-covered fruits, substitute white chocolate pieces for semisweet chocolate and eliminate the butter.

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: Internet/Mastering Microwave Cooking by Cone and Snyder
Submitted By: Marlen
matchlessm@aol.com
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries