Strawberry Season
Strawberry season is in full swing in my part of the world. My family has been visiting the strawberry fields every week.

We all love strawberries including our beloved Golden Retriever. True story, if I give her a strawberry that is store bought she will spit it out on the ground and proceed to give me a stare down. This year the strawberry farm didn’t plant Chandler strawberries, her favorite, and I have been getting quite a few stare downs.

Today I am sharing with you an awesome strawberry treat that I like to make for my husband’s lunch, for parties and especially for lazy Sunday afternoons. Easy to make and with the taste of cheese cake, strawberries and chocolate you have a winner, winner chicken dinner.
These strawberry treats taste like a bite of strawberry cheesecake drizzled in chocolate. The chocolate helps them stand up tall and straight just waiting to get gobbled up.

Cream Cheese
Start out by taking your cream cheese out of the fridge to soften while you prepare the strawberries.
Washing Strawberries
Thoroughly washing your strawberries in a colander in the sink until all dirt and debris is removed. Depending upon your strawberries you may need to rinse in fresh water a couple of times to get them thoroughly washed. Place strawberries into a large bowl and add vinegar/water mixture to the bowl. The vinegar water mixture will kill off any mold spores on the strawberries (optional). Let strawberries drain in the colander. I used my salad spinner and it worked beautifully.
Drying Strawberries
When you are done washing and draining the strawberries lay them out on paper towels. Let the berries dry while you are getting together all the ingredients, bowls and utensils needed in the recipe.

Preparing Strawberries
You will need to cut a small section off the bottom of the strawberry. This will allow it to stand up straight on a plate and not fall over. The small pieces are a nice cook’s treat.
Hull the strawberries. You can use a tool (strawberry huller) like I did in the video or you can use a knife to cut the stem off and then use the knife to cut out the center of the strawberry. I like using the strawberry huller because it will remove the stem and part of the inside to make a perfect hole for the filling. When finished place the strawberries on a paper towel to let the berries dry while you are making the filling.

Preparing Cream Cheese Filling
In a mixing bowl add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and flavorings. Mix thoroughly. If mixture is too thick you may add one drop of milk at a time to thin the mixture.
Filling Strawberries
Fill the center of the strawberry with the cream cheese mixture. To make a swirl design in the cream cheese mixture you will twist the strawberry in a circle with your fingertips while inserting the filling mixture into the strawberry. Set the filled strawberry on a paper towel to wait for the chocolate dip.

Melting Chocolate
Place 1/4 cup Ghirardelli Chocolate Dark Melting Wafers into a microwavable container. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds and take out and stir. If not melted then repeat at 15 second intervals until melted.
Dip the stuffed strawberries into the chocolate and swirl to make sure chocolate has coated the bottom of the strawberry and up the side about 1/4 in. Place the chocolate coated strawberry on a piece of parchment paper, wax paper or a non-stick mat.

Once chocolate has firmed up you can transfer the strawberries to a plate and place in the refrigerator for future eating.
Enjoy!
