Red, White & Blue Strawberries (4-Ingredient Recipe)

I first saw this cute idea for an Independence Day recipe on a magazine cover years ago... back when magazines were the main source of party inspiration.

The original recipe called for strawberries, white candy melts, and blue sanding sugar. Starting with that basic recipe, I improved it with one more ingredient to achieve the best chocolate finish and updated the details on the decorative items to be affordable and effortlessly gluten-free.

This no-bake dessert recipe is so easy, with just four ingredients and no special equipment (no double boiler needed). Simply melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave.

These festive strawberries are guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser at for any patriotic holiday from Presidents Day gatherings to Memorial Day celebrations and 4th of July BBQs .

Ingredients

• Fresh Strawberries: Look for fresh, red strawberries. This is an ideal time to pick up strawberries from a local farm or strawberry stand!
• White Chocolate Chips: Nestle White Chocolate Morsels are labeled gluten-free.
• Blue Colored Sugar: Betty Crocker Blue Sugar Sprinkles are labeled gluten-free.
• Coconut Oil (or vegetable shortening) creates a smooth finish to the white chocolate coating and helps it to harden faster. You can omit this ingredient, if you don't have it on hand. It will just take longer for the white chocolate shell to harden, or you can refrigerate the strawberries for 30 minutes to speed up the process.

Detailed Instructions

Gather and prep your ingredients and supplies. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Place blue sugar sprinkles in a small bowl, so they are ready for dipping as soon as the chocolate is melted.

Start with dry strawberries: The most important prep step is making sure that your strawberries are completely dry before dipping them in chocolate. Water and oil-based white chocolate chips do not mix. The white chocolate will seize and separate from the strawberries if they are still wet. I simply rinse and pat dry my strawberries about 30 minutes before making this recipe, giving them plenty of time to dry.

Patiently melt and stir the white chocolate: In a microwave-safe, small, deep bowl, melt white chocolate morsels and coconut oil (or shortening) for 30 seconds. Stir to distribute warm melting morsels throughout the bowl. Then, continue melting it for 15-20 second intervals, followed by stirring each time. The short heating times are essential, as chocolate can go from almost melted to a clumpy mess very quickly. Stirring is equally important, as the final bits of chocolate pieces will melt into the warm mixture as you stir.

Dip the strawberries in the melted white chocolate: I prefer to use the leaves as handles, or you can insert a toothpick in the top of each strawberry for dipping. Dip the bottom ⅔ of each strawberry in the melted chocolate, leaving the top third of the strawberry red for patriotic strawberries that echo the American flag.

Dip the white chocolate strawberries in blue sugar sprinkles: Dip the bottom third of the strawberry in the blue sugar sprinkles creating the blue layer of this festive dessert.

Allow dipped strawberries to harden: Place the red, white, and blue strawberries on the prepared baking sheet to dry. If you added coconut oil to the strawberries, they should harden at room temperature in about 30 minutes. If not, you can speed up the drying process by placing the dipped berries in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Display on a serving tray and watch this festive dessert disappear!

Make Ahead & Storage

For busy patriotic holidays, you may want to make this fun treat in advance. Red, white, and blue strawberries can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 day.

After that, the strawberries will not be at their best, and should be transferred to the fridge, for up to 2-3 days. Place a paper towel under the chocolate-dipped strawberries to absorb some of the condensation as the strawberries will sweat a bit in the fridge.

For the best appearance, serve within 1 day.