Whats better than classic chocolate covered strawberries? Cheesecake filled chocolate covered strawberries. They look delicious, taste divine, and no one has to worry about eating around the leafy tops. Oh and theyre super easy to make. Seriously. In a grand total of 20 minutes, you can create a dessert that everyone will love, making them perfect for even the busiest schedule.
Ingredients:
1 pint of strawberries
½ bag of chocolate chips
8 ounces of cream cheese
1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of milk
Sliced almonds (optional)
Crushed graham crackers (optional)
1. Clean those berries. Was them, dry them, and then cut the point off the bottoms. (Theyll be able to stand up after dipping them in chocolate.) Using the same knife, cut off the tops of the strawberries and scoop out the middle so that theres room for the filling.
2. This may seem like a nonsensical step, but really: dry the strawberries well. If you dont, the chocolate wont adhere to their seedy exteriors and youll be left with puddles of goop.
3. Save yourself some time and melt the chocolate in the microwave. Just be sure to heat it in 20 second increments to avoid it from burning (and stinking up your kitchen). As far as what chocolate chips to use, get bitter-sweet morsels with a high cocoa percentage.
4. Use a cookie sheet that will easily fit in your freezer and line it with wax paper. A simple but important step that youll be kicking yourself later if you skip because cleaning hardened chocolate off of a cookie sheet is no simple task.
5. Dip the bottom half of the strawberries in chocolate one by one and place them standing up on the cookie sheet. After the pan is full, put it in the freezer for 5 minutes so that the chocolate can harden.
6. While the chocolates cooling off, you can make the filling. In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk until the mixture is smooth. (Feel free to add in a little more milk if it seems too thick.)
7. Fill a piping bag (or a Ziploc bag that youve cleverly cut a tip off of) with the cream cheese mixture. Take the strawberries out of the freezer and fill them.
8. You can top these delights with a sprinkling of crushed graham crackers, almond slivers, or nothing at all. If youre not serving them right away, stick em in the fridge until everyones ready for them.
And there you have it: a delicious dessert that only takes minutes to make, is gone in seconds, and is elegant enough to serve at any occasion.
About the Author:
“Katie Straw” is the writer at Cheesecake.com, which provides an epic cheesecake experience, and currently resides in Manchester, New Hampshire.