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Sugar Free, Chocolate - Dipped Strawberries
Gourmet chocolate-dipped treats are the perfect gift for that special someone in
your life. Easy to make and not just good, but good for you!

4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons of granular Splenda®
1 teaspoon of coconut oil or no-trans fat shortening (optional)
12 to 16 fresh strawberries with caps or stems intact

Note: Use double this recipe for dipping large berries.


Line a heavy sheet pan with waxed paper or foil and put in the refrigerator to chill. Wash and dry
berries and put in the refrigerator. They should be very cold and very dry when you are ready to
dip them.

Chop the chocolate. The finer it is, the faster and easier it will melt. Shave it away from the edge
of a chunk in thin shards with a chef’s knife. Alternately, grate it with a microplane grater or use a
food processor or coffee grinder, being careful that it doesn’t overheat.

Measure the Splenda® and pulverize in a food processor or place a small amount at a time
between layers of parchment paper and crush with a rolling pin. It should be as fine as
powdered sugar. (Splenda® will not dissolve in chocolate so it must be crushed or the chocolate
will be grainy.)

Heat ½-inch of water to boiling in the bottom pan of a double boiler. Turn down the heat so it is
hot but not bubbling. (A bowl that fits tightly over a pan can be used as a double boiler.) Be very
careful not to get any water into the chocolate or it may separate or seize. Even a little steam can
ruin it.

Place one teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening in the top pan of the double boiler (optional, but
it helps keep the mixture smooth and shiny). Stir chocolate and Splenda together and add to the
pan. Set over, but not touching, the hot water. Stir the chocolate continuously with a spatula as it
melts.

Note: Chocolate melts at body temperature; which is why it has that wonderful, melt-in-your-
mouth quality, but it separates or scorches if it gets much hotter than that. A small amount of
melted chocolate that sits on the hot pan for too long can ruin the whole batch. So be patient;
don’t be tempted to turn up the heat, and stir thoroughly and constantly.

The chocolate mixture can also be melted in a microwave set on low. Heat for 30 seconds at a
time then stir and repeat until it is melted. Chocolate will hold its shape so you have to stir it to
tell if it is melted. As soon as it is melted, remove both pans from the heat. Leave the chocolate
over the hot water while dipping.

Hold berry by the stem or the cap or spear with a fork in the top where a stem would be if it had
one. Dip the bottom 1/2 to 2/3 of each berry into the chocolate. Swirl it around then hold it up side
down briefly so the chocolate will flow down for even coverage. Set on the cold pan.

Place pan with berries in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.  Store, loosely covered, for a
few days. Do not cover tightly or moisture will condense and drip onto berries. (DO cover other
things in the fridge so they don’t pick up any off flavors.)

PER SERVING:

Total Carb: 4.2g          Fiber:1.3g           Net Carb: 2.9g


Tip: To make a beautiful gift, purchase a presentation box and fluted, paper cups from a craft
shop. Arrange the berries in the box and tie it all up with a pretty ribbon. Your friends will be
amazed when you tell them you made them yourself. They will be even more amazed when you
tell them that this extravagant confection could actually qualify as health food!

About Strawberries:
Large strawberries make the most beautiful presentation, but small ones have the advantage in
taste (more chocolate in proportion to berry). Look for berries that are red all the way through
without white “shoulders.” They should not have a hard core or a hollow center.  If you have room
for a few strawberry plants, you can harvest ripe, long-stemmed berries in the summer without
the premium price tag.  

Strawberries are high in vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants but very low in sugar. One medium-
sized berry has about one gram of digestible carbohydrate.  

About Chocolate:
Chocolate is silky, sensuous, and seductive. It contains a natural antidepressant similar to
Prozac® and more antioxidants than red wine, green tea, or any other fruit or vegetable. It is low
in carbohydrates and half of that is fiber, which doesn’t count. The good news is that this is one
addiction that can be indulged without fear of getting arrested, intoxicated, or fat (provided it’s
sugar-free, of course).

The cacao tree is native to Central America, where it was cultivated by native people for a
thousand years before the arrival of Columbus. The botanical name for the cacao tree is
“theobroma,” which means, “drink of the gods.” The Aztec believed cacao seeds were brought
down from Paradise as a gift to man.  They made a drink by mixing ground cacao nibs with
water, vanilla, and spices but did not sweeten it. Chocolate was used as an aphrodisiac, as
food, and as money. Europeans, who were the first to sweeten it, valued it for use in medicinal
remedies.   

Premium, dark chocolate provides maximum health benefits. Inferior brands usually substitute
soy or cottonseed oil for the cocoa butter in the real thing.

Sources for unsweetened chocolate:

Guittard’s unsweetened chocolate comes in convenient 1-inch disks. Order it from the King
Arthur Flour® Company: www.kingarthurflour.com; phone: 800-827-6836;  or from
Chocosphere®: www.chocosphere.com, phone: 877-992-4626. (On Chocosphere’s Web site it
is called “Guittard’s Classic “Oban” Cocoa Liquor Wafer.”)

Sources for sweetened, sugar-free chocolate:

Low Carb Specialties Inc.™ sells Chocoperfection bars that can be melted and used for dipping
the berries. The main sweetener in these delectable bars is oligofructose made from chicory
root.  It is classified as a “prebiotic fiber” because it nourishes the beneficial microbes that live in
the intestinal tract. It strengthens the immune system and supports weight loss. It has a
glycemic index of zero and will not raise blood sugar levels. The bars have 2 digestible grams of
carbohydrate and 14 grams of fiber. Chocoperfection can be purchased online from:               
www.lowcarbspecialties.com; or by phone at: 800-332-1773; and from retail stores nationwide.  

Sugar-free, mini-sized chocolate chips with no sugar alcohols are available from Carbsmart® at:
www.carbsmart.com/minichips.html. They are sweetened with acesulfame potassium and
sucralose and contain one digestible gram of carbohydrate and 7 grams of fiber (polydextrose)
in two tablespoons. They can be melted without chopping.