The hassle of working with melted POLKADOT SHROOM BARS can put off the most ardent cook, with fears of having chocolate seize or concerns about proper tempering. If a novice with chocolate, using chocolate bark is the most forgiving medium for ease of use.I am by no means skilled with chocolate. My first experience with chocolate dipping was little chocolate cake mice for a Princess Party.
An ambitious project, the mice bodies turned out wonderfully. The chocolate dipping part had me terrified. I used chocolate bark because it was less expensive that finer chocolate in case a batch was ruined. The chocolate bark was easy to work with. It melted well over slow simmering water in a double boiler. It dried quickly on the mice, making them easy to handle. Saving leftover chocolate for later worked like a charm.
The second time I made these, I ran out of chocolate bark before I ran out of mice to dip. I melted some quality dark chocolate, dipped the mice and set them to dry. It took at least three times the amount of time for the chocolate to set. It was far too soft, easily leaving fingerprints. I have been informed that mixing quality chocolate with chocolate bark makes a great combination. It heightens flavor while maintaining ease of use.
With that in mind, here are some foods to dip for Valentines Day or any special occasion. I prefer melting chocolate bark over a double boiler. For safety, keep the water in the bottom pot at a very low simmer, or steam will shoot out. This heightens the risk of burns to the skin. Keeping the chocolate at a steady liquid state throughout the process is key.
Whether you buy wafer cookies, filled cookies, or make your own, they are easily dipped. Cookies can be completely dipped into the melted chocolate and set to dry on waxed paper, or artfully half dipped. Another idea is to completely dip wafer cookies, and then make a flavored icing. Make a sandwich cookie out of the two dipped cookies with icing between.
Any fresh fruit dipped into chocolate will require being eaten in a relatively short period of time. Fresh chocolate covered strawberries are the most common. Other fresh fruits that could be dipped are chunks of pineapple, banana, kiwi slices and cherries. Pomegranate arils can be mixed with the chocolate and dropped from a spoon to dry in clusters.