Easy Chocolate Recipes

A reader wrote to complain about our chocolate recipes. "They all look great," she said, "but I know I'm not going to make them."

She disagreed with our position that whipping up some little cakes and tucking them in the freezer would help. She doesn't think that fixing up some ganache and piping it is easy. She wants some easier recipes.

I see her point. There are people who don't cook or bake much, but still want to make treats at Christmas. Often with children.

So here's the secret:

• melt chocolate
• dip things in it
• put them on waxed paper to dry
  

Now, it isn't absolutely that easy. If you want to dip things properly, you have to temper your chocolate, and store it correctly, and things like that. This is why many people resort to "candy coating" instead of real chocolate. So here's the real secret:

• eat the dipped things immediately

The whole complex tempering bit keeps your chocolates from getting white spots of bloom on them after a few days. So just don't let there be a few days. Make these charming confections and serve them right away.

Chocolate Strawberries

Wash and dry the strawberries. Dip them into the melted chocolate. Set them on waxed paper to dry.

Chocolate Pretzels

Dip tiny pretzels into the chocolate. You can then dip them into colored suger or sprinkles. Put them on waxed paper. If you feel very ambitious, you can set them into circles to make wreaths, which you can then hang on the Christmas tree.

Fancy Cookies

Make cookies, or buy shortbread shapes, and dip them into the chocolate.

Chocolate Clusters

Stir nuts, raisins, marshmallows, and things into the melted chocolate and drop by spoonsful onto the waxed paper.

You can do this right before the office holiday party and impress everybody, or do it at home just to impress yourself.