I’m not a fan of roses. Not in the least. And most especially not on Valentines day. And, yes. Maybe there was that one Valentines day when I begged my sisters to drop major hints to my high school boyfriend that if he sent me a dozen roses wrapped in cheesy supermarket plastic that he might also send me into a fit of horror. I don’t know what it is. Bring me daisies, good shoes, or a box of chocolates and I find myself in love. Bring me roses and I can’t help but cringe. I’m totally weird like that.
With such a rose abhorrence, you’d think I’d be firmly against these Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Roses the kids and I made this afternoon. But, I found them so ridiculously delightsome that I took one between my teeth and dance around the kitchen like a tango dancer charming a raging bull. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but these pretty little chocolate roses are so simple, and offer such a fresh take on Valentines day gift giving, that I was willing to drop all self-awareness and shake what my mama gave me. I was also willing to drop all animosity toward roses and allow them to charm their way back into my heart.
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Roses
- 10-15 medium sized strawberries, cleaned and thoroughly dried
- 10-15 bamboo skewers
- 1 1/2 cups pink candy melts
- 1/2 cup red candy melts
- Small block of styrofoam
In a small, deep bowl, microwave the pink candy melts for 30 seconds, then stir. Melt for 30 seconds and stir again. Continue microwaving for 30 seconds and stirring just until the mixture is fully melted. Heating it in small spurts will keep you from overheating the chocolate, creating a mottled appearance in the final product.
Pull the top, green part of the strawberries up and away from the red fruit. This will keep the greens out of your chocolate, and will also make the greens look more like rose leaves once the strawberries are dipped. Carefully press the sharp edge of a skewer directly into the center part of the strawberry green, press the skewer in just far enough to hold the strawberry . Dip the strawberries into the melted pink chocolate. Turn upside-down and press the sticks upright into the styrofoam, store them here until the chocolate is hardened.
In a small bowl, melt the red candy melts in the same way as you melted the pink candies. Once melted, transfer to a ziptop bag, snip off a small corner of the bag, and pipe up one side of the strawberry and in a spiral on top. Allow to harden once more. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
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