Video #1: EZ Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Gourmet, chocolate-dipped treats are the perfect gift for the special someone in your life. Easy to make and not just good, but good for you! Recipe adapted from Nourished; a Cookbook for Health, Weight Loss, and Metabolic Balance.

Ingredients:
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 teaspoon (24 drops) EZ-Sweetz or other liquid sweetener equal to 1/2
cup sugar
A second liquid sweetener, such as stevia, equal to 1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons no-trans-fat shortening, such as
Spectrum, or use coconut oil*
A few grains of salt
12 to 16 fresh strawberries (1/2 to 1-ounce
each for a total of about 10 ounces, with
stems or caps attached

Directions:
Chop 8 ounces of unsweetened chocolate into small pieces. Use a rocking motion to shave the chocolate away from the edge of the chunk in thin shards. The smaller the pieces, the faster and easier it melts. Always use high quality chocolate. Inferior brands may substitute soy or cottonseed oil for the healthful cocoa butter in the real thing.

Line a heavy sheet pan with waxed paper or foil and put in the refrigerator to chill. Wash and dry the berries and put in the refrigerator.They should be very cold and very dry when you are ready to dip them.

Heat an inch or so of water to boiling in the bottom pan of a double boiler. Turn down the heat so it is hot but not bubbling. (A bowl that fits tightly over a pan can be used as a double boiler.)

Place sweeteners and salt in top pan of the double boiler and set over, but not touching, the water. Add shortening and stir until it is melted. Continue to stir for a few minutes more to let the liquid in the sweetener evaporate. Stir in chocolate and continue to stir until melted and smooth. Stir the chocolate continuously with a flexible spatula as it melts.

Note: Chocolate melts at body temperature, which is why it has that wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth quality, but it separates or scorches if it gets much hotter than that. A small amount of melted chocolate that sits on the bottom of a hot pan for too long can ruin the whole batch. So be patient; don’t be tempted to turn up the heat, and stir, stir, stir, thoroughly and constantly.

As soon as the chocolate is melted, remove both pans from the heat, but leave the chocolate over the hot water while dipping.

Hold berry by the stem or cap, or spear with a fork in the top where a stem would be if it had one. Dip the bottom 2/3 of each berry into the chocolate. Swirl the berry around and hold it upside down briefly so the chocolate will flow down for even coverage. Set on the chilled pan. Repeat with remaining berries.

Place pan with berries in the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes before serving. Can be stored, loosely covered, up to a few days. Do not cover tightly or moisture will condense and drip onto the berries. (DO cover other things in the fridge so the berries don’t pick up any off flavors.)

Makes 12 to 16 servings of 1 berry.

Calories: 31; Fat: 2.7 g; Protein: 0.7 g; Fiber: 1.2; Net Carbs: 1.7 g

Notes:
The amount of chocolate coating you need will vary with the size of your pan the the size of the berries. You can double the recipe if necessary.

*Berries covered with chocolate made with shortening will hold up longer at room temperature. Those made with coconut oil will need to be refrigerated and used promptly or the chocolate will melt.

About half the chocolate dip will be left over because it will become too shallow for dipping. Pour it out in a 1/4-inch layer and cut it into chocolate chips when cold or stir in some nuts or coconut and drop by tablespoonfuls onto pan to make candy clusters.

You can melt purchased, sugar-free chocolate, such as Nevada Manna chips or LC-Foods disks, to use for dipping.

Are wild strawberries really wild? Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child?…Or should we make a pet out of something less scary, like the Domestic Prune or the Imported Cherry. Anyhow, you’ve been warned and I will not be blamed if your Wild Strawberries cannot be tamed.”~~Shel Silberstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

This is the first of a series of videos I made with the EZ-Sweetz Company. More to come!

Pin it > http://www.pinterest.com/pin/178666310191766511/

Nourished on Amazon > http://tinyurl.com/mq42koa

Disclaimer: I will receive a commission from the sales of the books above and I have received product samples from EZ-Sweetz.

(c) 2012, Judy Barnes Baker, http://www.carbwarblog.com

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Judy Barnes Baker

The working title for my first book was, “You’ll Never Know What You Are Missing.” It summed up my goal: to make eating for health synonymous with eating for pleasure. Once you discover the secret, you will find that the very best food for weight management, longevity, the treatment and prevention of disease, and over-all health and happiness is also the most sumptuous, satisfying, and indulgent way of eating the world has to offer. You are invited to the feast. Enjoy!
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Judy Barnes Baker
11 years ago

Hi Joanell! Thanks, I like it too. Nate found the music.

joanell
11 years ago

Loved your utube video – music made me think we were all in Paris.