chocolate balsamic strawberries

I was excited to still find strawberries at the farmers' market this morning. One thing I've noticed, however, is that they spoil much more quickly than they did at the height of strawberry season. I wanted to do something with them to ensure we'd eat them before they go bad. 

Enter chocolate.

My new staple baking chocolate is E. Guittard Chocolate Wafers - they are easy to measure, melt quickly due to their small size, and will satisfy a chocolate craving in a pinch. I don't normally keep heavy whipping cream on hand, but I happened to have some leftover from a ganache I made last weekend. That settled it - chocolate dipped strawberries are for dessert tonight!

Chocolate Balsamic Strawberries

1/3 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. quality bittersweet chocolate

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. walnuts, chopped and toasted

1 pint strawberries

Heat cream in a small pot over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, stirring until it has melted completely. Add balsamic and mix in. Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes (it will begin to thicken as it cools).

Stir chocolate. Dip strawberries one at a time into chocolate, then sprinkle with nuts and place on a plate. Refrigerate until you're ready to enjoy (at least an hour).

I had a bit of chocolate left over, so I tried an experiment. I put about 2 Tbsp. into each space of a paper lined muffin tins (I had enough chocolate for 6). Topped that with a small dallop of almond butter (the chocolate was still warm, so it melted in a little. Then sprinkled with remaining walnuts and a dash of sea salt. I put them in the freezer for an hour during which time they turned into a yummy salty nutty chocolate treat!