Today’s recipe might just come in handy this week. Still looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? You can’t go wrong with sweets for the sweet! Making chocolate-dipped fruit is super easy – and who doesn’t love chocolate (besides two of my sons)? I found this recipe in the Toll House Heritage Cookbook (1980), a collection of dessert recipes using everything Nestle’s. You can skip the melting over hot water and simply melt chips and shortening in a glass or microwave proof bowl in the microwave. Start with 15 second increments on high, stir, and return to microwave to continue melting. Cook’s note: you can cut this recipe in half. The whole recipe makes 1 cup of melted chocolate – that’s a lot of chocolate!
Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
1 12-ounce package (2 cups) Nestle Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels
¼ cup vegetable shortening
Fresh strawberries, washed and dried, and/or
Mandarin orange slices, drained,
Pineapple chunks, drained
Maraschino cherries, drained
Dried apricots
Over hot (not boiling water), combine chocolate morsels and shortening; stir until morsels melt and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat but keep chocolate over hot water. If chocolate begins to set, return to heat. Dip pieces of fruit into chocolate mixture using a long wooden skewer, twirling to coat all sides, shaking off excess chocolate. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Chill in refrigerator at least 10 to 15 minutes until chocolate is set. Gently loosen fruit with metal spatula. Dipped fruit may be kept at room temperature up to 1 hour. If chocolate becomes sticky, return to refrigerator.
Note: You can also dip pretzels and marshmallows in chocolate. To use every bit of chocolate, stir in chow mein noodles, mini marshmallows and raisins and drop by spoonful’s on parchment paper.
If you look carefully you can see my reflection in the heart!
connieiscooking 
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