Baking with Chocolate

  There are many desserts that are made for Valentines day but the most common and unique to this holiday are chocolate covered desserts. From strawberries to marshmallows there are so many simple desserts you can make by dipping them in chocolate. The best part of this dessert is it is very easy. All you need is the item you want to dip and some chocolate. However if you want to elevate your sweet treats to the next level follow these tips and tricks for your chocolate covered desserts this Valentines day. 

When making chocolate-covered desserts, no matter what you are coating, I would recommend using baking chocolate. Baking chocolate will melt more consistently as well as leave a more finished look on the items you are coating. My other tip is for when you melt your chocolate. The most effective way to melt your chocolate is in a double boiler. By using a double boiler your chocolate will stay melted but will not burn. This allows you to be able to dip more items without having to remelt the chocolate.

Although many food items can be dipped, the thing most people think of is strawberries. This dessert can be very easy to make however there are some simple things you can do to elevate your chocolate-covered strawberries to the next level. First, after you wash your strawberries, make sure they are fully dried. If they are not completely dry the chocolate will not stick as well and bubbles will form under the chocolate. The easiest way to coat the strawberries in chocolate is to hold them by the leaves and then dip and twist the strawberry in the chocolate. This stops any of the leaves from getting stuck in the chocolate and allows the strawberries to get completely covered. For extra sparkle, you can add a topping or drizzle to your chocolate coat. Some toppings I would recommend are crushed nuts, Oreos, and sprinkles.

Another popular item to cover in chocolate is Oreos. Now covering regular Oreos in chocolate is delicious, but if you really want to elevate this dessert you can add a few simple ingredients and make Oreo balls instead. Oreo balls are a simple no-bake dessert that can add a little extra flavor to your Valentine’s Day. If you have a food processor at home, I would recommend using this to crush your Oreos to ensure they are extra fine. If there are any big chunks of Oreo, the texture of the balls will not be right. By using a food processor it helps eliminate any chunks. When dipping your Oreo balls in chocolate I recommend using a spoon to coat the balls and then putting them on a baking sheet to cool. 

This next recipe is not dipped in chocolate but coated. Muddy-buddies or puppy chow is an easy recipe to make and can be altered for each holiday. My biggest when making muddy buddies is making sure your cereal is fully covered in the chocolate peanut butter mix and then fully coated in the powdered sugar. For the month of February, my favorite way to make this recipe special is to add pink and red M&M’s. This is an easy way to add a little bit extra to this simple recipe. Another thing to note is that, unlike the other recipes, it is completely fine to use chocolate chips and not melting chocolate. 

There are many different items you can dip in chocolate to make as simple desserts for Valentine's day. Here are some other items I would recommend trying. I find pretzel rods are always a hit and you can add sprinkles to make them more festive. Graham crackers and marshmallows are also always good dipped in chocolate as well. No matter what you are making though if you follow these couple tips you will have a guaranteed success.