And by easy, I mean three minutes, once you melt the chocolate!
I always melt chocolate using a Pyrex bowl over hot water (not boiling, just really warm) on the stove. I use the lowest flame on the smallest burner and put a 2 quart kettle on to heat with about two or two-and-a-half inches of water in the bottom... and then I set a Pyrex bowl over the pan so that it closes off any steam produced....
And then I pour in Ghirardelli 60% cacao chocolate chips.... and when they're almost melted, I pour in more, and stir... and then I do that again. This helps to "temper" the chocolate, and honestly, I pay no attention to it, I set the timer and when it dings, (It's an LG so it actually plays a song.... DANCE TIME!!!!) I toss in a handful....
So first we dipped strawberries (Like Jan, I had a craving for berries, it must be the sight of sunshine in upstate New York!!!)... so I lined a pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, dipped the berries up to their shoulders, and laid them out on the pan, then tucked them into the fridge.... For about $4.50 we had 24 gorgeous, dipped berries.
And then I added a cup of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds... stirred.... lined another small pan with aluminum foil and spread the chocolate/almond mix out....
Refrigerate.
Break into pieces.
Have a happy family. And I distinctly remember taking pictures.... but they're not uploaded??? WHAT?????
Bummer!
Well, let's check a few of these Mother's Day faves!!!
"Prairie Girl Anna", how precious is this???? Just turned five and ready for kindergarten, Anna is clearly ready for farm work! Helping Grammy!!!!
An "Oops".....
Three boys, making things for Mommy....
Glue and glitter bring out intensity in youth, it seems...
Grandpa made a fire.... We're clearing brush and tree limbs to expand the play area for kids...
And Matt manned the grill one day, while Jon and Beth made Chicken French the next... And a big pasta salad and easy desserts so we could spend these first nice weather days outside!
Happy Mother's Day to all who've ever acted in the role... Regardless of relationship, it's so important to have a "Mom" you can talk with and trust... God bless you all!
Strawberries look yummy.
ReplyDeleteAs for moms, I've been really missing mine this month. Hubby and I both have and we've been talking about how blessed we were to have such terrific Moms who loved us unconditionally.
I'm sure your kiddoes feel the same about you. smile
Sandra, I'm sure they do, too. I love them to pieces and I respect them so much... although they do remind me of some of my Mom tirades back in the day.... I shrug it off, obviously they NEEDED a mom tirade, right??? :) And I love dipped berries!
DeleteI have to make dessert next week for a church gathering. Think I'll do dipped strawberries. Simple and gluten free and they look so special that people think you slaved for hours. :-) Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteKav, do it! It always impresses people and they love them, and they're so easy!!! And you can coat the chocolate in nuts, sprinkles, mini chips... Or drizzled colored white chocolate on them (like Shari's Berries) but I find that keeping them simple saves me time, and no one cares!
DeleteI had a great Mother's Day with my children and almost-children, plus the ones I get to "mother" for a few precious minutes at a time...sigh. Great memories.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to make these for our church carry-in on Sunday, if I can find the strawberries! There's one store in town that has decent produce, so I'll have to try there.
Thanks, Ruthy, and happy belated Mother's Day!
Jan, this is such a perfect dessert/offering for crowds. Lacey does them for us for patriotic holidays in blue and white chocolate and I do them in milk or dark for other days... A family and crowd favorite!
DeleteAnd yes, the trick is finding good berries at the right time, and the firmer shipping berries work better than homegrown, actually. They're not as likely to get mushy... and that's key to dipped berries.
And now I'm craving strawberries. Though I have to admit, with the CRAZY pollen season, I need to steer clear of chocolate for a bit as it aggravates the allergies. *sigh* But I'll endure for all the pretty flowers and trees in bloom.
ReplyDeleteCate... not having chocolate aggravates things more, so you cannot use that excuse around the Ruthinator, darling! Hey, do you have the days counted until Writing Season???? Some folks call it "summer" but folks in schools know that it's really "writing season" for AUTHORS!!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!
DeleteI love chocolate covered strawberries. Wow, those tulips are amazing.
ReplyDeleteUsing the dark chocolate allows this kitchen gal to pretend they're almost healthy! And what a sight to see these tulips burst open this year. They've multiplied and I need to separate them for next year, but after such a long, gray, cold spring, these were like a breath of fresh air.
DeleteI was just about to type what Tina said. So ditto the Teenster!
ReplyDeleteDitto the answer, laughing out loud! :)
DeleteWhat gorgeous tulips, Ruthy. Love the mix of bright colors. The strawberries, too, but that goes without saying. I mean, there is chocolate involved.
ReplyDelete