Perhaps it’s the combination of being stuck in quarantine together for almost a year at this point, along with the fact that I will do anything to celebrate the little things in an effort to keep covid-times “fun”, that led me to getting really into Valentine’s Day this year.  In my flush of festivity, I whipped up these beautiful (and might I say, incredibly tasty) treats for Chris and I to enjoy after our romantic day of running errands and cleaning out the garage.

These little gems come together in about 30 minutes or less, and are nothing short of impressive.  Simply melt some chocolate, crumble up some speculoos cookies (I used the Trader Joe’s ones here, but the classic brand is Lotus Biscoff cookies if you are searching for them!), and dip and dunk your strawberries.  They do need to set up for at least 2 hours for optimum eating, but this could be sped up by freezing or refrigerating for a few minutes to help set the chocolate quickly for more spontaneous assembly.  If you have extra melted chocolate and/or cookie crumbles, feel free to follow Chris’s lead and dip some extra speculoos cookies as extra treats!

If you want to make this your own, feel free to try other types of chocolate, crumbled cookies, or fruits!  Bananas and chocolate are a classic combination, raspberries, blackberries, or orange wedges could all be fun to try.  This would also be interesting to try out using nuts as the base (almonds, pecans, peanuts, or walnuts would all be great dipped in chocolate and coated in cookies).  If you try any of these other combinations, comment below on how it went!

Recipe down below, photos up top!  This recipe made enough for about 18 strawberries (plus a bonus chocolate-covered cookie!), so feel free to scale up if making these for a larger event or party.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

Chocolate and Speculoos Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients:

• 18 strawberries
• 1 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips
• 6 speculoos cookies

Method:

1. Set up a clean Silpat or piece of parchment paper to have ready as a landing place for your chocolate covered strawberries.
2. Select and inspect your strawberries to make sure they are all perfectly cleaned, dry, and free of any blemishes/rotten spots.  Ideally, select berries that all have the leaves firmly attached to hold onto while dipping.
   1. If you need to wash your strawberries, be sure that they are fully dry before dipping (chocolate and water do not mix well!).  Similarly, any rotten spots on the strawberries will continue to spoil the berry after it’s dipped.  If eaten the next day, this might be very unpleasant!
3. Place your speculoos cookies into a small, sealable bag.  Seal the bag and tap gently to crumble (I used the end of a rolling pin for this.  A wine bottle, small pan, can of beans, or just your hands will all work too).  Once the cookies are fully crumbled, remove from the bag and place into a thick layer on a plate.  Set aside.
4. Add the chocolate to a small, heat proof bowl, and melt over a double boiler, stirring constantly.  Once fully melted, remove from the double boiler (carefully, the bowl might be hot) and prepare to start dipping the strawberries!
   1. Alternatively, you can melt chocolate in the microwave by adding the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave, stopping every 5-10 seconds or so to stir until fully melted.
5. Dip the strawberries one at a time by holding the stem/leaves of the strawberries and dipping straight into the chocolate (if you are starting to run low on chocolate, tilt the strawberry and swirl to cover all of the sides).  Once fully coated in chocolate, remove the strawberry from the chocolate and shake gently to allow the excess chocolate to drain back into the bowl.
6. Once fully dipped in chocolate, gently dip and swirl the strawberry into the speculoos cookie crumbs to coat the chocolate in a full layer of cookie crumbs.  Move to the prepared Silpat or parchment paper.
   1. It’s best to do this quickly and swiftly, if possible.  The chocolate is still wet and will smudge off if too much pressure is applied or if you linger too long.
7. Allow the chocolate to cool and set around the strawberries, around 2-4 hours at room temperature (or about 30 minutes in the refrigerator).
8. Once set, remove from the Silpat or parchment paper and enjoy!