Like Jenna from my novel Captured, I used to own a bakery so I too have a long and deeply personal history with chocolate.

That’s why I’m recommending that if you live anywhere near a Godiva store you go in today, spend $10 and sign up for their chocolate rewards club. You get all sorts of deals and emails that you probably don’t want but you get a free piece of Godiva chocolate EVERY month for a year. Since today is the 31st that means if you go in today you can get a free Truffle, then walk right back in tomorrow morning and get another.

So I was in the Godiva shop yesterday, you know, browsing—which is how I know about the rewards club and the reason I walked around downtown with chocolate at the corner of my mouth for an hour before I saw myself in a shop mirror—and they were selling chocolate covered strawberries for $6 EACH. Really, they are so freaking easy it’s ridiculous and I can’t BELIEVE that anyone could charge $6 per strawberry. They are quick, fairly cheap, relatively low in calories (about 50 calories for two) and everyone is always impressed by them so I’m going to tell you how to make them—

(Okay, before we start, the thing you absolutely cannot do with chocolate is get ANY WATER in it. Not even a tiny drop. The chocolate will ‘seize’ which means it turns into a yucky looking mess and there’s nothing to do but toss it out and start over. Make sure your bowl, measuring implements and stirrer are dry before you start.)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

6 ounces semisweet good quality chocolate chips like Godiva or Ghirardelli (I just use a half bag of chips when I don’t feel like weighing it. Some people like milk or dark chips but I find the sweetness makes the fruit taste bitter so I use semisweet but try for yourself and see which one you like.)
3 ounces white chocolate chips (You can buy a bar and chop the chocolate up to melt it but again, I just use chips)
1 pound strawberries, washed and dried very well (Remember what I said about water and chocolate seizing. The strawberries with stems look nicer and they are a bit easier to dip, if you can get them. They’re more expensive with stems and my local store hardly ever has them so I buy whatever they have and I prefer organic.)

Instructions

Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper.

Microwaves were just MADE for melting chocolate! Put the semisweet chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt the chocolate in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted. Stir until smooth (a single wooden chopstick works great for this).

Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, hold a strawberry by the stem—or edge if you didn’t get the stemed ones—dip the strawberry into the semi-sweet chocolate, lift and twist slightly to let any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberry on the parchment or wax paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

Put the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt the chocolate in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted. Stir until smooth.

Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries to decorate them.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about half an hour. I usually put them in the fridge and I store them in there, taking them out about ½ hour before they’re served. I have also been known to just stand at the fridge door and eat them. To serve them up pretty you’ll peel them off the paper and put them on a paper doily covered plate and having them cold makes the covered strawberries easier to handle.

That’s it. So simple, right? Try the caramel turtle at Godiva, that’s what I got. Just be sure to check yourself in a mirror when you’re done.