Minty Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Chocolate Letters

1. Line a large baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside.

2. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and coconut oil together over a double boiler. Stir frequently until chocolate is smooth and all chips have melted, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the chocolate—melt it slowly and stir gently for best results.

3. When chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat and start dipping your strawberries! I like to dip strawberries into the chocolate at a bit of an angle, then twist them around in the chocolate so nearly all of the fruit is coated. When strawberry is fully coated in chocolate, lift it out of the bowl and let any excess chocolate drip off. Place chocolate covered strawberries on your wax paper-covered baking sheet to set. Repeat until all strawberries have been dipped in chocolate.

4. Let chocolate strawberries set on the counter while you make the chocolate letters.

5. Print out a copy of any word/font combination you like (I chose “LOVE” in a script font for Valentine’s Day) and cover the printout with a piece of waxed paper.

6. Spoon any remaining melted semi-sweet chocolate into a small zip-lock bag (or a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip). Snip off a tiny bit of the corner of the zip-lock bag to turn it into a piping bag.

7. Use the piping bag to trace the letters on your printout (you’ll be able to see them through the wax paper) with the chocolate. No worries if you mess up on a letter or two—just pull the wax paper over so that the printed letters are under a fresh, chocolate-free area of the wax paper and try it again! I usually pipe four or five versions of the same word on a single piece of wax paper before I have enough letters I’m happy with.

8. Set the piped chocolate letters aside to set on the counter. Let letters and strawberries set for about an hour, until chocolate is completely cooled.

9. When chocolate strawberries have cooled, it’s time to add the mint chocolate!

10. While you melt the mint chocolate, set the hardened chocolate letters in the fridge so they’ll be more melt-resistant when you put them on the strawberries!

11. Melt mint chocolate chips in a double boiler, stirring frequently, until smooth.

12. When chocolate is melted, remove from heat and let it cool for 3-5 minutes (just long enough so that it won’t burn you through the piping bag). Chocolate should still be smooth and melted.

13. Pour chocolate into a small zip-lock bag (or a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip) and snip off a corner of the bag just like we did earlier.

14. Use the piping bag to drizzle mint chocolate back and forth in smooth, horizontal strokes across each chocolate-covered strawberry.

15. Pull chocolate letters out of the fridge and gently peel them one at a time off the wax paper. I try not to touch the front of the letters much, so as to avoid fingerprints on the final product. I find it’s pretty easy to peel the letter off the wax paper just like a sticker, and pick it up by its back with just one finger. You could also use tweezers or a butter knife if you want to be a bit more precise.

16. Gently lay each chocolate letter in the center of a strawberry. The mint chocolate drizzle should still be wet and will act like glue, keeping the chocolate letter attached to the strawberry.

17. Once you’ve adhered all the letters to strawberries, let berries set on the counter until mint chocolate has cooled. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 3-4 days.