We aren’t very big on Valentine’s Day, but with a little kid at home it’s usually at least a good excuse to spring for a babysitter and enjoy a nice dinner out. Thanks to COVID, as with all the other holidays, Valentine’s Day will “look a little different” ~ AKA be a completely messed-up, bizarre-world version of itself. So instead of getting dressed up and picking a new restaurant to try, this year it’s all about family fun and finding activities to entertain a very bored six year old.
Since we couldn’t put together classroom treat bags like in past years, we decided to treat ourselves to fun and easy to make chocolate covered sweets! The idea came from our daughter’s birthday a couple months ago. She had very specific demands for her cake—chocolate cake, strawberry frosting, and tons of strawberries on the outside. I delivered on the cake, and while it all turned out delicious (thanks to the ever-reliable recipes in The Cake Bible by @realbakingwithrose), the chocolate covered strawberries I piled on top were the biggest hit. At the time, these were an afterthought and I just dunked them in the leftover ganache glaze and hoped for the best. But given how we were fighting over them, I knew I’d have to make a bigger batch eventually!
The chocolate strawberries were a bit of a mess to eat, so my first thought was they needed to be put on sticks. Then, to make them a little more interesting (to make and to eat), we decided to try out different toppings. Crushed Oreos, Thin Mints, and graham crackers added a nice crunch—you could experiment with whatever cookies or candies you might happen to have around! We also used up some odds and ends of colored sugar we had from Christmas cookie decorating. For variety, and inspired by a recent S’more-making session, we also added some chocolate covered marshmallows into the mix too. The chocolate is a modified version of the ganache I improvised from the birthday cake.
The whole process is really very easy and quick, and is something kids can enjoy too! A couple of tips—you’ll want to wash your strawberries and set them out to dry in advance. The main way this process can go sideways is if you try to dunk wet strawberries in chocolate. It will be a mess! Special equipment isn’t really necessary, but if you use the stovetop method, a double boiler makes it much easier and less likely that you’ll scorch the chocolate. For the sticks, we used 6” kebab skewers, but you could also use paper lollipop sticks. To make it easier to dunk in chocolate, I poured the melted chocolate into a coffee tumbler, which was the perfect depth and kept spills to a minimum.
Finally, you’ll need to find a way to keep the pops upright to dry. I took a cardboard box and poked holes in with a skewer—you could also use a chunk of packing Styrofoam, if you happen to have some lying around!
Chocolate Covered Valentine’s Day Pops
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes + 2 plus hours hardening time
- Yield: ~12 strawberries & 12 marshmallows
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
1 pint strawberries (to pick out half a pint of ripe, medium-sized, non-squished berries)
12 large marshmallows
12 oz baking chocolate (semi-sweet or bitter sweet, depending on preference), chopped coarsely
1 tsp corn syrup (optional, but adds shine and smooths consistency)
2 TB unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 TB hot tap water
Preferred Toppings
2 sheets graham crackers
6 Oreos, crushed
9 Thin Mints, crushed
Supplies
24 – 6” skewers or lollipop sticks
Double boilers (optional, if no double boiler use microwave method)
Instructions
1. Rinse berries and set out to dry thoroughly. Discard any over-ripe strawberries or ones with mushy spots.
2. Plan a ‘drying station’ ~ an upside down cardboard box poked with skewer holes works perfectly!
3. Crush desired cookie toppings. I put each cookie type into a bowl and used a mashed potato masher to thoroughly crush to a crumb consistency. Alternate ways to crush the cookies: 1. Use a mortar and pestle. 2. Place the cookies in a gallon ziplock bag and crush with a wooden rolling pin. 3. Use a food processor to pulse into crumbs. Arrange each topping on separate plates.
4. When berries are dry, pull off the leaves. Stick each marshmallow and each berry (upside down) onto a skewer.
Double Boiler Method
5A. Heat water in bottom pan of a double boiler until just before simmering. Add chopped chocolate to the top pan. Continue to heat, without allowing water to come to simmer, while stirring periodically. Stir thoroughly once chocolate begins to melt. [Continue to step 6]
Microwave Method
5B. In microwave-safe dish, heat chopped chocolate for 20 seconds on high. Then, heat in 10 second increments, stirring between each increment until chocolate is mostly melted.
6. Remove from heat (or microwave) when chocolate is lumpy but not completely melted. Stir until melted. Add room temperature butter, one tablespoon at a time. Stir thoroughly until melted. Add in corn syrup, if using, and hot water. Stir until well-combined.
7. Pour melted chocolate into a tall tumbler or glass.
8. Dip each marshmallow into chocolate, twirl to coat, and place in drying rack. Let dry for 30 seconds to one minute before coating with topping. It works well to work in batches of 3-5, dipping in chocolate and then coating with toppings.
9. To coat, roll each berry/marshmallow gently across the crushed toppings. For a lighter dusting, just sprinkle on top (this worked well for graham crackers especially).
10. Place in drying rack and ideally allow to dry 1-2 hours for chocolate to harden (or eat right away if you can’t resist!). Once chocolate is hardened, place into a cup or mug for easy storage in the refrigerator.
***Best stored in the refrigerator. Strawberries last two days depending on ripeness, marshmallows last three days.
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