Halloween Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Directions

1. Rinse the strawberries and pat them thoroughly dry. Any moisture will prevent the chocolate from sticking properly.
2. Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries, then gently fold the stems back against the toothpicks so they stay out of the chocolate.
3. Melt the chocolate candy melts following the package directions.
4. If the melted chocolate seems too thick, stir in about ½ to 1 teaspoon of coconut oil or vegetable shortening per ½ cup of candy melts. This is usually only needed if the melts were overheated, but amounts can vary by brand.
5. Hold a strawberry by the toothpick and dip it into the melted chocolate, turning to coat the entire berry.
6. Lift the dipped strawberry, turn it upside down, and gently shake and rotate it to even out the chocolate coating.
7. Set the coated strawberry on a styrofoam board or a piece of parchment or wax paper to dry.
8. If adding sprinkles, do it immediately after dipping: hold the strawberry over a piece of parchment paper and pour sprinkles over it while turning the berry to cover evenly.
9. The parchment paper catches excess sprinkles so you can pour them back into the container for reuse.
10. Place the sprinkle-covered strawberry on the styrofoam or a clean piece of parchment to dry.
11. Let the base chocolate-covered strawberries dry completely before adding more layers.
12. For a second color, put the melted chocolate into a tipless pastry bag and snip off a tiny tip.
13. The size of the cut determines the thickness of the lines you'll drizzle.
14. Gently drizzle the chocolate back and forth over the strawberry to create stripes or patterns.
15. If adding sprinkles to the drizzle, apply them while the chocolate is still wet, then let dry completely before removing excess sprinkles.
16. Work with one color at a time and let each layer dry fully before adding the next.
17. When removing excess sprinkles, use a paintbrush, pastry brush, or your fingers to gently wipe them away. Make sure the chocolate is completely dry first, and reuse the sprinkles by pouring them from the parchment back into a bowl.
18. Repeat with different colors until you achieve the look you want.
19. For a monster face, place melted white chocolate into a piping bag or ziplock bag, snip the tip, and drizzle it back and forth over a dried white chocolate-covered strawberry, leaving a small gap in the middle for eyes.
20. Add small dots of chocolate where the eyes go, then press candy eyes into the wet chocolate.
21. Let the eyes set and dry.
22. Start with a completely dry white chocolate-covered strawberry for the next step.
23. Put melted red candy melts into a piping bag, snip the tip, and drizzle onto the top of the strawberry to resemble dripping blood.
24. Use the toothpick to hold the strawberry and control the drips and placement.
25. Since faces require practice, try sketching designs on parchment paper first until you're happy with them.
26. Thin melted black candy melts with a little shortening or coconut oil, then put them in a pastry bag and snip a tiny tip.
27. Draw faces onto the dried white and orange chocolate-covered strawberries using the black chocolate.
28. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to nudge the melted chocolate into precise shapes, sharp corners, or tiny lines—a common royal icing technique.
29. Let the finished strawberries dry completely before serving or storing.