Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Rinse strawberries and pat dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium/low heat.

Put 2/3 of your chopped chocolate into a rimmed bowl and set over your double boiler. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes or until chocolate is mostly melted and reaches 110˚F on a thermometer (not hotter than 120˚F or chocolate will burn).

Immediately remove the bowl from heat with oven mitts and set it on a kitchen towel. To temper the chocolate, add the remaining 1/3 of your chocolate and stir constantly until cooled to 90˚F (the optimal dipping temperature is 90˚F.) If it starts to cool, return the bowl to the double boiler to warm it back to 90˚F.

Working with one strawberry at a time, pull back the leaves to use as a handle. Then dip and roll in chocolate until evenly coated. Lift up the strawberry and let excess chocolate drip off. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle on nuts, crumbs, or sprinkles while chocolate is moist so it adheres. Once semi-sweet chocolate is set, you can drizzle and decorate with melted white chocolate.