Dairy-Free Chocolate Strawberry Reindeer

I usually share little bits of what we do in my “cooking” highlights. instagram, but this treat was too cute to add to the blog. We have a few holiday meetings this month and I was looking for allergy-friendly products that impress me but take little time to prepare.

I thought of chocolate covered strawberries because it’s something even my clumsy self has done successfully in the past, and once you’ve mastered them, you can easily swap out ingredients for different holidays (a quick Pinterest call directed me to Rudolph)! With the microwave oven shortcut, this can be done in 30 minutes and my little taste testers were delighted!

what you will need

• 1 cup of strawberries (16 ounces)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• Parchment
• pretzel
• Red circle candy or dried cranberry for the nose
• Candy eyes available at the craft store or select grocery stores. You can also easily make eyes by cutting pieces of sugar (e.g. licorice), dried fruit or using a sprinkling of round white pearls. If dairy allergies aren’t a problem, Nick had the idea to pop a pack of Swiss Miss Marshmallows cocoa mix and choose small dried marshmallows to use as eyes!

Food Allergy Alternatives

We use the Enjoy Life brand for dairy-free chocolate Amazon or Aim), does not contain 14 major food allergens and is produced in a special nut-free facility. Instead of using M&Ms for the reindeer nose, we replaced it with Skittles for a dairy-free, nut-free alternative.

Skittles and candy eyes can be hard to chew for little kids, so next time I’ll just dry some dried cranberries for my nose and make my own eyes!

1. Wash the Fruits and Dry them Thoroughly

It is important to make sure that the fruits are dried. thoroughly before diving. Water can prevent the chocolate coating from sticking well to the fruit, and water droplets in the chocolate sauce can spoil the consistency.

2. Prepare the “horns”

I used our trusty food scissors to cut my bagels, but you can break them by hand or use a paring knife on a cutting board. I then roughly matched my pretzel pieces in pairs so they’re ready to place once the berries are dipped. These do NOT have to be perfect!

I’ve seen most people on Pinterest attach the antlers first and then dip the fruit, but I found it much easier to dip first. If you sharpen one end of your pretzel sticks, it will be much easier to insert into the strawberry.

I’ve also seen some versions that use whole mini bagels glued (instead of diced pretzels) on top of fruit, which will save you the whole step!

3. Melt the Chocolate

The correct way to melt chocolate is to use a double boiler on the slow cooktop, but I use the microwave shortcut without a problem. I like to use a small deep bowl or glass measuring cup with a handle. The KEY to not burning your chocolate chips in the microwave is to do it in small intervals and check it every time.

• Small Increments. Start with 30 seconds, then another 30 second round. Add additional time in 15-second increments and be sure to check the chocolate each time until it melts. I stir in the chocolate after I take it out of the microwave.
• No water. Make sure that not even a drop of water gets into the bowl, or the chocolate may “stick” and become a clay-like consistency.
• I add an optional spoonful of coconut oil before melting it, allegedly thinning the melted chocolate for more liquid dipping, but that’s not strictly a requirement.

4. Immersion

While grasping the strawberry leaves, dip each strawberry in the melted chocolate, scraping some of the excess chocolate off the rim of the bowl, and place on parchment paper to “freeze.”

I dip about 4-5 berries in a row, pause to garnish, and then reheat the dipping chocolate in the microwave for about 15 seconds before continuing with the dipping.

5. Decorate

Stick it on your horns, eyes and nose before the chocolate coating dries. This much!

Serve the same day or store in the refrigerator if you are going to serve the next day. I would serve them within 24 hours after I made them.