Valentine's Day Chocolate Strawberry Hearts - Decadent Chocolate Strawberries

Ingredients: 

Strawberries 

Chocolate chips or other dipping chocolate 

Wax paper 

Toothpicks (optional)

Shh, no one has to know that you made the Valentine's Day gift this year! And, what's wrong with that? Why would any sane person pay over 20 bucks to buy chocolate covered strawberries when they can be made for a few dollars? Anyone can box the treats to look impressive so no one has to know that you made the gift yourself. Now your mom, grandmother, sister, or girlfriend, can receive a quality Valentine's Day gift without you spending much at all. They'll think you went crazy with your money and they'll be glad that you did!

Any guy or woman can easily make chocolate covered strawberries to give as a gift for Valentine's Day. Get the strawberries and some chocolate; you'll have the gift made and boxed before the day is over. Look for strawberries that are plump and shaped nicely. Strawberries that have lumps on the top or bottom aren't the best choices; great strawberries are ones with a smooth, cone-type of shape.

Buy chocolate and melt it in the microwave. You'll get the strawberries coated much quicker than if you had to warm the chocolate in a double-boiler. Melt the chocolate chips, chocolate bark, or other dipping chocolate in the microwave for about 15 seconds, stir, and then start zapping the chocolate for 10 seconds at a time, and then stirring, until the chocolate is smooth and has no chocolate chunks in it.

Cut each strawberry in half from top to tip and lay the flat side of each half on wax paper. Put two halves together so that their tips touch each other at the sides but the tops of the halves are apart. To make the near-perfect strawberry heart every time, it can be helpful to use a toothpick. Arrange the tips of the strawberry halves to touch each other and then push a toothpick through the right side of the top of the heart, and out through the left side. The toothpick can stay in place until you chocolate-coat the strawberry if you want. However, you'll need to remove it almost immediately so that chocolate can drip over the sides of the strawberries and cover the holes.

Spoon the melted chocolate over the strawberries. You can use white or chocolate; you can coat them in chocolate, and drizzle white chocolate on top of that, or vice-versa. Put the strawberries in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set; box it within 24 hours.