Do you love grapes and adore chocolate?
Occasionally, you stumble on a home run recipe idea. Everyone loves grapes. Most people adore chocolate, so why not combine the two? Many years ago, I was looking for a quick and easy, but equally decadent idea to serve to my dinner guests. I wanted to have a little bite of sweetness on my appetizer tray, but I didn’t want a mini dessert either. Voila! The chocolate grape was born! Crazy simple to prepare, and equally fun to serve.
make them in the morning, and forget about them until dinnertime!
Most of us think of the classic combination of chocolate and strawberries whenever you think of chocolate combined with fruit. As you know, I like to shake things up a bit, and make surprising substitutions whenever I can. There is something about this surprisingly delicious combination that gets people every time! I love when part of my dinner party can be prepared ahead of time. These chocolate covered grapes fall directly into that category!
just melty enough…
It all begins with a big glass bowl and your microwave. Melting chocolate in your microwave is so easy! You have to be careful to not over do it though. Once you have mastered the “just melty enough” appearance of your chocolate, you will never look back! I like to combine at least 2 kinds of chocolate to drizzle over the grapes. Specifically, bittersweet and milk chocolate. If you are feeling particularly fancy, you may use three different chocolates.
a hot tub of chocolate…
After the grapes are dipped in the melty chocolate hot tub, you are all done with this “recipe.” As soon as the grapes are covered with chocolate, you place them on a sheet pan that is covered with parchment paper. A few hours in the refrigerator quickly transforms the grapes into a can’t just have one treat. These grapes are probably the most talked about treat on the appetizer tray! Try them and see what your family and friends say!
dahlia friends
chocolate covered grapes
crisp fresh grapes dipped in 2 kinds of chocolate… welcome to your favorite appetizer surprise!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes + cooling time
- Yield: about 20 clusters of grapes 1x
- Category: appetizer
- Method: melt and dip
Ingredients
1 pound of fresh grapes ( it is important that the grapes are fresh and firm )
1 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips ( I like ghiradelli )
1 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips
Instructions
Wash grapes and snip apart with kitchen scissors into 2-4 grape clump pieces
Place grape clumps on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel to dry thoroughly. The grapes must be completely dry to accept the melted chocolate
Pour chocolate chips in a large glass bowl
Melt in the microwave in stages – remove every 40 seconds and stir. This usually takes 2-3 stages. Be careful to NOT OVERCOOK. Remember that the chocolate may be melted and still be in the form of a chocolate chip. The melted chocolate should be smooth and glossy.
Prepare a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper
Dip each dry grape clump back and forth in the chocolate mixture
Place on parchment paper leaving space between the grapes
Refrigerate for several hours
Remove from tray and place on serving tray
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