Chocolate, Strawberries, and Cheesecake, Oh My!

There is nothing better than a firm and juicy strawberry. Except for cheesecake. But there is nothing better than cheesecake than a smooth and creamy piece of chocolate. That is, unless all three are perfectly combined into the ideal dessert for any occasion. If you are trying to satisfy each of these three cravings, this recipe does a wonderful job of bringing out the qualities of each ingredient and leaving your taste buds as pleased as can be.

For this recipe, you will need:

•  An 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 lb of large strawberries
•  4 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Graham cracker crumbs
• 1 bar of Peters Chocolate

Rinse your strawberries well, and cut the top off of each one. Cut the core out of each berry. Set each prepared strawberry on a small stack of paper towels so they can dry off.  Line a baking pan with wax paper and set aside. Melt the dipping chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and stir it often. Set it aside to cool down a bit. In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Prepare a piping bag with a larger and circular piping tip. Fill the bag with your cream cheese mixture. Push the mixture down towards the tip end of the bag by shaking the bag up and down, or by squeezing the mixture down. Twist the top of the bag to help force the cheesecake mixture down towards the tip. Pipe the mixture into each strawberry. After each strawberry has been filled, you can dip the strawberries into the melted dipping chocolate. Only dip the strawberry halfway so that you can still see a fair amount of the strawberry. Set each dipped strawberry onto the wax paper of the baking pan. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. After you have finished filling each strawberry with cheesecake, and dipping each in chocolate, set the pan in the refrigerator or the freezer to help the dipping chocolate harden up.

Now that you have mastered the art of the bite-sized chocolate covered strawberry cheesecake delights, you will be able to make your own candies instead of buying them. Making your own candies is much healthier, and in this recipe, you have the option to use your very own homegrown strawberries. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to begin your next candy creation!