Chocolate Covered Fruit

What is better than fruit?  Chocolate covered fruit, of course!

Thanks to Pinterest, I had a great idea for tonight's Superbowl game.  Add a few dashes of white chocolate to chocolate covered strawberries and you've got cute little 'football' strawberries!  They taste even better then they look.  But chocolate usually tastes better than it looks. 

To dip fruit in chocolate, don't wash the fruit!  If you do, you need to make sure the fruit is totally dry before you start.  Strawberries, apple slices (pat dry with paper towel), dried apricots, bananas, are all great options.  But today we're talk'n stawberries! It also helps if your fruit is at room temperature.

I did this recipe by guessing measurements because I wasn't sure how much I'd need for a two pound container of berries. So, don't complain if you have a bunch of leftover melted chocolate (who would complain about that anyways!?). Extra chocolate means you can dip everything in sight...banana slices (see below), graham crackers, your fingers, or just a spoonful put directly to your mouth...

I melted one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove, adding about a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the mix as the chocolate begins to melt.  This addition of veggie oil will help smooth out the chocolate and make it a little easier to dip.  It will also ensure that once the chocolate hardens on the fruit it won't turn to rock and crumble when you take a bite.  Place your dipped fruit on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or a silpat liner. Let cool and solidify on strawberries.

As the chocolate on the dipped strawberries hardens, begin to melt about one half cup of white chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Use low heat!  I've found white chocolate is very tempermental, and high temperatures will leave you with a mess.  Add a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil to the mix and stir until melted.  Spoon the white chocolate in to a small ziploc bag.  Snip a VERY tiny piece off one corner of the bag and use this as a homemade pastry bag to pipe the white chocolate on to the berries.  You might want to practice a few football lace patterns on to plain parchment to get the hang of it.

Let your finished product sit in a cool place, but not the fridge!  Cold temperatures will make the fruit sweat.  You can store leftover chocolate dipped berries in the fridge, but they will only last a day or so.  But seriously.  Why or how could you have leftovers!?  Just eat them... its healthy because there is fruit inside!!

Chocolate Covered Bananas
I had some melted chocolate left over after dipping the strawberries so I sliced two bananas and started dipping them. As well as my fingers.

Then it hit me.  What could make chocolate covered bananas even better?  Peanut butter! I grabbed the PB and smeared some on top of the slices.  Then I dipped those too!  Note - you have to work fast with the PB bananas because the warm chocolate will start to melt the peanut butter.   

Once you are done, pop these little guys in the freezer and let them chill for a bit. Or, you can just store them in the freezer and eat them like little bon bons!  Again, it can't be that bad for you... there is fruit in the center and protein in the peanut butter.  Am I right, or what?