10 red, white, and blue desserts

Eye-pleasing patriotic desserts in red, white, and blue.

Chocolate covered strawberries with popping sugar

Kitchen Report
For some Fourth of July fun, sprinkle chocolate dipped strawberries with popping sugar and watch the surprise on the faces of those who try one!

By Kendra NordinKitchen Report 

3 to 4 ounces of dark chocolate
1 pint of strawberries, washed and dried with stems on
1 2.8-ounce can of popping sugar

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in small bowl, stirring occasionally. If using a double boiler, transfer the melted chocolate to a smaller bowl for dipping the strawberries.

2. Cover a cookie sheet in wax paper.

3. Grabbing a strawberry by the stem, dip it into the chocolate.

4. For best results, I found that holding the dipped strawberry over a plate and then using your fingertips to sprinkle the popping sugar works best. If you roll the strawberry in the sugar, the sugar tends to sink into the chocolate and loses its textured look. And eventually the moisture from the chocolate will cause the sugar to clump in the bowl. So use your fingers and sprinkle.

5. Set the dipped and covered strawberry on the wax-paper lined cookie sheet until the chocolate has set. If you are in a rush, and you'll be serving them soon, place the covered strawberries the freezer for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. But don't over do it because the strawberries will sweat when they warm up. Humidity causes the sugar to soften and the popping effect will diminish.

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