How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

It’s a food with elegance, yet simplicity; its chocolate covered strawberries. Chocolate covered strawberries are a great way to make a statement without breaking the bank or the clock!

You can really experiment a lot with chocolate covered strawberries.

Try changing up the type of chocolate, maybe rolling it in nuts or drawing things like little tuxedos on the berries.

Let’s go ahead and get started because these chocolate covered strawberries are going to be delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 pt. strawberries
• 1 lg. bag semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1/4 c. Crisco (lard not oil)

Directions:

1) Wash and dry strawberries. Melt chocolate and Crisco in double boiler. Dip strawberries in hot chocolate and put on tray covered with wax paper or Saran Wrap. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.
Assuming all parties are of age, try adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brandy, cognac or other liquor. This gives a little zest to your classic chocolate covered strawberries.

For help with dipping try my 3-step method.

1. Pick
After washing the berry, gather the stem and leaves in a three-finger grasp.

2. Dip
Dip the strawberry straight into the chocolate and then roll it around, still holding the stem.

3. Twist
Remove the strawberry from the chocolate and give it a whip-twist. This is what I call the move where as your lifting the strawberry out, flick your wrist a little bit as your twist the strawberry so that the stem is on the bottom and you’re holding it upwards. The twist cuts off any chance of a chocolate drop and gives your strawberry a little flair.

Of course this is just my method. Trying different dipping methods will give different looks. Some people like the strawberry tuxedo too. This is done simple by dipping the berry in white chocolate (for a dark chocolate suit) first.

Let this harden and then angle the berry to about a 30 degree angle when you dip the dark chocolate on both sides, depending on how wide you want the lapels to be. Pipe some dark chocolate on later, after the chocolate has hardened to add the bowtie. It’s such a cute way to dress up an everyday food. Enjoy a batch of chocolate covered strawberries for yourself!

Banana Split Cheesecake Recipe

Wow… this banana split cheesecake recipe is insane. The day I ran across this recipe was also the day I baked it; it just sounded so delicious! Who would have thought that you could take two completely different desserts and make one super supreme snack.

The trick is that this recipe is basically a banana cheesecake. The banana split part comes in the topping. What an overflow of toppings…but how tasty!

I’m sure you’re just dying to try this recipe out, just as I was, so why wait any longer. Go ahead… get started now.

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 cup packaged chocolate cookie crumbs (such as Oreo)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted

Filling:

• 4 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups banana; mashed and ripe
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

Toppings:

• 1/3 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• 1/3 cup strawberry sundae syrup
• 1/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 16 maraschino cherries, drained

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°.

2) To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.

3) To prepare filling, beat cheeses and sour cream at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, banana, flour, and vanilla; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time; beat well after each addition.

4) Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set. Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge.

5) Cool cheesecake to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon pineapple, 1 teaspoon strawberry syrup, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup, 3/4 teaspoon pecans, and 1 cherry.

Yum! This delicious (yet unique) cheesecake recipe showcases all the delicious flavors a classic banana split in a new and exciting way. Your friends will be so shocked to see the cheesecake you made them and everyone will be just dying to know the recipe! It can be our little secret!

Marbled Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

Strawberry cheesecake is one of my favorite cheesecake recipes of all time. I love strawberries and I could eat them all day long! This recipe for marbled cheesecake is a new twist on an old favorite and although traditional strawberry cheesecake is good, this recipe had me at the word “marbled”.

I remember my grandma was the first person to ever give me a taste of strawberry cheesecake. She had made it for a holiday dessert one year and it was fantastic. From then on I began experimenting with different variations of strawberry cheesecake. Some recipes added kiwi, some added banana, and some just took new stances on the strawberries.

I don’t know how many recipes I went through, but this one definitely took the cake… the cheesecake! It’s smooth, it’s creamy, it’s strawberries—it’s perfect!

Yield: serves 12 guests

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake:
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
10 ounces frozen strawberries (thawed), in syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

1) Puree strawberries and cornstarch in blender. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened, then cool. Combine melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2) Bake at 350 F. for 10 minutes. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

3) Pour half of the batter over the crust then add half of the strawberry mixture by spoonfuls to the batter. Pour remaining batter into the pan then add the remaining strawberry mixture by spoonfuls. Swirl the mixture with a knife until it resembles a marbled effect.

4) Bake at 300 degrees (F) for 50-60 minutes or until set. Allow cheesecake to cool then remove from rim of pan. Chill overnight before serving.

I absolutely love this recipe and the fact that it is swirled just adds an extra little fun effect. This recipe is especially fun for younger kids who tend to love swirling the batter! It’s a delicious cheesecake recipe for the whole family and I give it two big thumbs up!

Keylime Cheesecake Recipe

Key lime cheesecake is a traditional dessert in the southern United States. Its bold lime flavor is very distinct and one you will not soon forget as it rests tartly on your tongue. This Key Lime Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce recipe is from my grandma.

She is an absolutely incredible cook and I have learned so much from her. I remember when my grandma made this cheesecake for my brother’s high school graduation. It was such a big hit and everyone loved it. My brother was actually sad when he learned that there were no leftovers.

If you like the tartness of limes, the creaminess of cheesecakes and the sweetness of strawberries, then this Key Lime Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce recipe is perfect for you.

Yield: 12 servings 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1- 8 oz. pkg. sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lime rind, finely grated
• 1/2 cup Key Lime juice

Directions:

1) Stir together the first three ingredients. Firmly press the mix onto bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9 inch spring-form pan. Bake at 350° for eight minutes; cool.

2) Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream, rind, and juice. Pour batter into crust.

3) Bake at 325° for one hour and five minutes; turned oven off. Partially open oven door; let stand in oven 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately run a knife around edge of pan, releasing the sides.

4) Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; cover and chill eight hours. Garnish if desired and serve with strawberry sauce.

Strawberry Sauce-

• 1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind

1) Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Drizzle bits of the strawberry sauce over your cooled cake. Serve and enjoy.

As you can imagine, this recipe is a great way to enjoy an original key lime cheesecake with strawberry sauce anytime you would like; eat up! The combination of flavors is truly divine and one that your taste buds will not soon forget.