Creamy Stuffed Strawberries

I know this isn't the best pic, but I was literally holding a friend back from eating one at the time!

As I said in my last post, this weekend was filled with Irish goodness as we had a group of friends over for an evening of Guinness and savory foods from the Emerald Isle. While I’m not sure if stuffed strawberries are very Irish (hey I had made a loop hole for it by saying the savory foods were authentic), they are very delicious, so I threw them in with the appetizers. These are simple to make, impressive to look at and will quickly disappear once placed within reach of your guests. These would also make a great dessert for an at home romantic evening.

While I made up how to make these, the idea was not originally mine. An old friend of mine used to make a similar dish for potlucks and guarded the recipe with his life because he didn’t want anyone else to start bringing them. I had always respected his secrecy, until we stopped hanging out regularly and having said potlucks. One day I decided that I could probably guess the basic ingredients and gave it a go. Honestly, with these ingredients, it would be hard to make something that wasn’t to die for. Enjoy!

Stuffed Strawberries

Stuffing:
One 8 oz. package of cream cheese
¼ cup of powdered sugar
a few shakes of vanilla extract

several splashes of milk

2 small packages of strawberries
½ cup of chocolate chips, or dipping chocolate

1) Wash strawberries and remove their tops and the white insides. Make sure strawberries are completely dry before moving forward.

2) Use a hand mixer to combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add the milk a splash at a time until the mixture is completely smooth and just thin enough to squeeze easily through a piping bag. It should be similar to a thick frosting.

3) Use a piping bag or make your own out of a Ziploc bag to fill each strawberry with the stuffing.
4) Melt the chocolate either by following the instructions on the bag (if it’s melting chocolate) or using a double boiler.

5) Either dip stuffed strawberries in chocolate and place on wax paper to dry or use the piping bag method again to do some swirls of chocolate on one side of each strawberry. The second method is quicker and less messy, but it’s really a matter of personal preference and time.

6) Refrigerate the strawberries for half an hour to make sure the chocolate sets.

Notes:

-I bought three packages of strawberries and picked out the bigger ones and had about one package left over of smaller ones. They became part of a fresh fruit salad the next day.

-If you don't have a double boiler, fill a small pot a couple of inches with water and place a glass measuring cup with your chocolate in the pot. Presto! A homemade double boiler. Just be very careful not to get any water in with your chocolate.