Ballin' on a Budget: Chocolate Covered Strawberries Edition
To buy or not to buy… that’s the question. If you’ve ever wanted to purchase a pack of chocolate covered strawberries, you probably felt your bank account evaporate.
A set of six can cost upwards of $50 (yikes). These prices are steep, especially for a college student. The funny thing is that the overall the price of making berries yourself is around $10. Since I’ve made these too many times, I’ll share my tips and tricks so you get enough bang for your buck.
The great thing about chocolate covered strawberries is you can make them for anything, maybe a party or having a special someone over. You could even make them with friends or a significant other as a fun. Take notes: this can be a Valentine-themed activity. Your chocolate covered masterpieces have endless possibilities.
Ingredients
Vanilla almond bark, 24oz
Chocolate almond bark, 24oz
Fresh Strawberries, 1lb
Directions
Break up the bark while it is still in the package (you can use the counter if needed). This will make putting the pieces in a bowl easier.
Wash and dry off your strawberries. Drying the strawberries stops the chocolate from becoming watery or runny.
Set out some wax paper or foil to put the berries on after they’ve been decorated.
Put some of the bark in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second increments, stirring in between each increment, until the chocolate has melted. Be sure not to burn the chocolate.
After your chocolate melts, take each strawberry by the stem, dip it in the chocolate and set it on the wax paper.
Now for the fun part… decorate as desired!
Possible Decorating Ingredients
Sprinkles
Chocolate chips
Toothpicks or a piping bag
Your choice of cereal
Food coloring
Classic Decorations
Classic chocolate covered strawberries typically have some type of drizzle. Professionals would tell you to use a pipping bag for that, but have no fear, I have found my own efficient way of doing it. I take a spoon and dip it in the chocolate and put it over the strawberries and quickly sweep back and forth over all of them. If you really want to jazz your creations up, you can add food coloring to white chocolate for a pop of color. Once you only have a little left, you can always lightly mix the white and milk chocolate together and dip berries in to create a marble-looking effect.
Decorating With Sprinkles, Chocolate Chips and Cereal
If anything can boost the festivities, it’s sprinkles. Everyone loves them! Personally, I’m all for rainbow sprinkles. After you dip the strawberries in your preferred chocolate, take the berry and dip it in the sprinkles. You can repeat the same process for both the chocolate chips and the cereal. I know cereal sounds a bit out there, but it’s so fun and yummy.
Decorating With Toothpicks or a Piping Bag
You can do just about anything with these two tools. For instance, if you know someone who loves football, you can dip a berry in milk chocolate and either pipe or use a toothpick to create stitches with white chocolate. You can also make the strawberries look like they’re wearing a tuxedo. It’s simple: just dip the strawberry in white chocolate first; once it’s dry dip the berry on both sides at an angle in milk chocolate. Then, you can add buttons and a tie with a piping bag. If you want to spice up a good-old drizzled strawberry, take a toothpick and gently glide it across the chocolate to create a pattern.
Chocolate strawberries are a must-have on Valentine’s Day. Not only is it easy, but you can wow people with your creativity! Now, go get the chocolate and strawberries. It’s time to get to work!
Happy Valentine’s Day and…
Be well, Auburn.
Photography: Laura S.
Copy Editor, Writer
As a military kid, Laura moved all over the place but now claims Huntsville, Alabama. She is a double major in graphic design and journalism. She loves coffee, any type of art, and most of all traveling. When she isn’t working on projects, she is hanging out with friends, going to church, hiking, or trying something new. If she isn’t traveling, she is painting places she wants to go. Her dream job is to work for a travel magazine or the National Parks Service.
