Chocolate Covered Blueberries

My first taste of chocolate covered blueberries was at a wonderful little shop in Bar Harbor called Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium. I can't believe how many years ago that was now.... and my then future husband immediately declared them his favorite 'candy.' Now that allergies limit the treats my husband can enjoy without distress to those that are homemade, I decided it would be nice for him to enjoy this treat again. And really, they couldn't be easier to make.

First, wash your blueberries and allow them to dry so the chocolate won't slide right off.

When you are ready to begin, pour your chocolate of choice (I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips because they are allergen free, and I honestly prefer the taste of these chips to any other brand I used in the past!) into a microwave-safe bowl and add maybe a teaspoon of olive oil (or, again, your preferred oil or even butter). That's right - no need for a double boiler.

Pop the bowl of chocolate into the microwave for 1 minute, take it out and stir. You can see that some of the chips have started to get a bit sticky, but are still intact.

Microwave another 30 seconds and stir again. Now the chips are really soft on the edges but still solid.

Another 30 seconds and stir. Now we're getting somewhere, but still solid bits.

One more 30-second nuking and stir again. This time just keep stirring until you have a bowl of smooth melted chocolate. The important thing about this super easy method of melting chocolate is not to let it get too hot, that is why we stir every 30 seconds.

From here, the possibilities are endless, but today we are dipping fresh blueberries! Just add a bunch right on top of the chocolate. Stir them around (gently so you don't smush them of course) and see how much loose chocolate is left in the bowl. Add more berries and stir again until you are happy with how coated they are and don't have a bunch of chocolate pooled in the bottom of the bowl.

Use your spatula to scoop up a gob of berries, and drop them into small clusters onto your waiting parchment paper or foil, etc.

If you are feeling compulsive about your clusters, go ahead and use your fingers to transfer exactly the number and arrangement you want. This will get you messy, but then you get to lick the chocolate off when you're done, so all in all not a big deal. But if you are in the mood to embrace randomness, just allow them to drop into whatever conformation the universe deems appropriate - they will taste just as good.

Allow them to cool and set completely, then transfer the clusters to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Unless your husband gets home from work early, then you can skip this step because there won't be any left to store...

Enjoy! 
Sue