Back when I was a kid, I tried what was for me a very memorable treat. It wasfrozen chocolate covered pineapple on a stick. It was wonderful. I decided to recreate it, but with a twist. I added freeze dried strawberries to the chocolate covered pineapple pieces.
Better yet!
This is super easy to make. I used pineapple chunks and put them on a skewer. You could probably make it work with pineapple rings, although I think you would need to freeze them before coating in chocolate to keep them from falling apart due to the weight of the chocolate.
I bought the pineapple chunks in pineapple juice, not syrup. I started out by draining the pineapple chunks. Pour the juice into a cup and you have a nice drink for while you work. I love pineapple juice.
Arrange the chunks on paper towels so they can dry a while before you coat them in chocolate.
While the pineapple dries a little, get out the freeze dried strawberries. I get mine at the local dollar store, which is a much better price than the ones I see at Target or online. The dollar store also carries freeze dried apples, bananas and pears. You can play with the flavors if you want. I think this would be great with freeze dried raspberries too. Those aren’t from the dollar store, but you can get them at Target or online. They would be a little more tart than the freeze dried strawberries.
Pour the strawberries into a ziplock bag, squeeze all the air out and seal. Tap gently with a smooth kitchen mallet. You don’t want all of it to be dust – you just want smallish pieces of freeze dried strawberries for the coating. If you want a smooth look, go for the powder, but I like the chunks.Pour into a bowl when you’re done.
Pour into a bowl when you’re done.
Melt your chocolate. I usually use the microwave method. Chop the chocolate into small pieces, then melt in 30 second increments, stirring between rounds, until smoothly melted. Add some coconut oil during the last round so the chocolate goes on more smoothly.
Place the pineapple chunks on skewers. I find that about four chunks together makes a nice size. You can do individual chunks or make different sized groups, of course. As things turned out, I had exactly 40 pieces of pineapple to work with, which I spread across 5 skewers and two groups of four per skewer.
Use a spoon to pour chocolate all over the pineapple chunks. Rotate the skewer as you go so that you get all sides. When the pineapple is thoroughly coated, tap the end of the skewer to remove excess chocolate. Do this to each group of pineapple on the skewer.
Working quickly while the chocolate is still melty, spoon freeze dried strawberries all over the chocolate covered pineapples. Place on a baking sheet that has been covered by parchment paper.
One all the skewers are done, place in refrigerator or freezer to solidify. If you are planning on removing the pineapple from the skewers from the pineapple chunks before serving, I would suggest using the refrigerator so that it’s not too difficult. On the other hand, having the chunks on skewers is an attractive serving option. About an hour in the fridge will be plenty to make things solid enough to remove the skewers if you want.
Keep the chocolate covered pineapple chunks in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve, especially if you’re serving them frozen. The pineapple will defrost fairly quickly, just like any other frozen food. On the other hand, these taste quite good from the refrigerator too, which may be better if they need to sit out for guests. The freezer option is best if you’re not going to eat them too quickly.
- 1 can pineapple chunks in juice
- 10 oz chocolate dark chocolate recommended
- 15 g freeze dried strawberries
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
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Drain juice from pineapple chunks and arrange chunks on paper towels to dry.
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Place freeze dried strawberries in ziplock bag, squeeze air out and seal. Use smooth kitchen mallet to break strawberries into smaller pieces, but not into dust.
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Chop and melt your chocolate. I use 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring between rounds. Add coconut oil before starting last round of melting. Stir well to mix in coconut oil.
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Place pineapple chunks in groups on skewers.
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Use a spoon to pour chocolate over pineapple chunks, rotating skewers to ensure all sides are well coated. Tap end of skewers to remove excess chocolate.
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While chocolate is still melty, use another spoon to sprinkle chocolate covered pineapple chunks with freeze dried strawberries.
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Place covered chunk on parchment paper covered baking sheet or plate. When all skewers are coated, place in refrigerator or freezer to firm up chocolate. Use refrigerator first if you want to remove the chocolate covered pineapple chunks from the skewers before serving.
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Serve frozen or from refrigerator. Both ways taste great.
