Chocolate-Dipped Treats

Chocolate-dipped treats are really easy to make and great for the holidays! You can dip just about anything like strawberries, green apples, bananas, grapes and pretzels! Here’s how to achieve gourmet chocolate-dipped treats at home for much less than retail price.

You will need 16 oz of sweet, semi-sweet, bitter sweet, milk and/or white chocolate. I like to use chocolate chips because they’re the easiest to melt but chocolate bars coarsely chopped works too.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until smooth. What is a double boiler you ask? I was pretty lost too without my friend’s help (thanks Mikey!)… A double boiler is a stove top apparatus used to melt chocolate without burning or seizing. It consists of an upper vessel containing the substance to be cooked which is situated above a lower pot of water. I simply used a metal bowl for the chocolate chips over a large pot with steaming water. When brought to a boil, the steam released in the lower pot provides heat against the bottom of the upper one, thus melting the chocolate!

Don’t overheat the chocolate because it will become grainy! Once the chocolate is ready, hold your treats and dip them into the chocolate mixture until they are 3/4 covered. You have to work fast because once the chocolate starts to cool, it’s harder to dip consistently!

Place your treats on a sheet of waxed paper for the chocolate to cool and harden for at least an hour. Have a little fun and sprinkle a little bit of nuts and coconut flakes to dress them up! If you’re really crafty, use a toothpick to paint buttons and a bow tie to create a tuxedo effect. The possibilities are endless!