15 Things You Should Cover With Chocolate Slideshow

The grey, post-holiday months of January and February, when happy celebrations feel few and far between are the perfect time to practice your chocolate-dipping skills and bring joy to the kitchen. There are many ways you can enjoy a chocolate-dipped treat; it all depends on how you like your chocolate.

Perhaps you just want to cloak everything in smooth, warm, melted chocolate — in that case, chocolate fondue is for you. You can dip bread, fruit, cookies, or cake into the molten chocolate — but really, chances are whatever you submerge in quality chocolate will be delicious and a joy to eat.

Perhaps you are craving chocolate that is set but still soft, for a bite that gives way with ease as with these chocolate-covered strawberries. Adding a little fat to the melted chocolate — for instance, using cream with the chocolate to make a thick ganache, or adding about a teaspoon of shortening to every half cup of melted chocolate — will give you a smoother, more manageable consistency for dipping. Bonus tip: If you add coconut oil to melted chocolate you'll have a "magic shell" for your ice cream.

If you want chocolate that is smooth, glossy, and hardens when you leave it to dry, you'll need to temper it. You can tell that chocolate is tempered if you hear a sharp, clean crack when you break a piece of it. If truffles are on your holiday baking to-do list, tempering is essential.

So make 2018 the year you learn all about cooking with chocolate and then proceed to dip everything you can in chocolate. These 15 chocolate covered recipe are a great place to start.

First, cream cheese, coconut, and shortbread are mixed together and formed into balls. Then, these are rolled in shortbread crumbs and draped in a smooth chocolate and coconut oil concoction.

For the Buttery Coconut Shortbread Truffles recipe, click here.

The title says it all — these chocolately treats are sweet, salty, and savory all at once.

For the Chocolate Bacon Almond Butter Bananas recipe, click here.

Clementines have a thick enough membrane to keep the fruit's juice contained (moisture is the enemy of melted chocolate), yet are thin and delicate enough to have a smooth mouthfeel when you take a bite.

For the Chocolate-Covered Clementines Recipe, click here.

This interesting combo would be a fantastic accompaniment to a cheese board. The garlic is roasted until caramelized and sweet, pairing surprising well with chocolate.

For the Chocolate-Covered Roasted Garlic recipe, click here.

Try rolling these chocolate-dipped bananas in coconut flakes or ground almonds for something a bit snazzier.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Banana Bonbons recipe, click here.

Chocolate-dipped dried figs are incredibly easy to make but they look elegant on a dessert platter or cheese plate. You are sure to impress your guests with this one.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Figs recipe, click here.

For the best results, freeze the soft goat cheese rounds before you send them into melted chocolate. These are guaranteed to be delicious.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Goat Cheese Balls recipe, click here.

You would never know that these rich chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons are vegan and gluten-free.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons recipe, click here.

These Latin American-inspired desserts are filled with whipped cookie dough and cream cheese. When they emerge from the oven, they are dipped in peanut butter and then in chocolate, too.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Empanadas recipe, click here.

Absolutely perfect for the holidays, these festive, pink-colored, peppermint-flavored marshmallows are dipped in glossy dark chocolate and sprinkled with crunchy peppermint candy.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Marshmallows recipe, click here.

Instead of just dipping one thing in chocolate, try dipping everything — and eating it immediately!

For the Swiss Toblerone Chocolate Fondue recipe, click here.

Strawberries are a chocolate-covered classic and a New Year's staple. When making these strawberries, make sure you either temper the chocolate or add a teaspoon of shortening for every half a cup of chocolate to get a smooth, dippable chocolate.

For the Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries recipe, click here.

Make crunchy kale chips even more addicting with melted chocolate spiked with chile powder and flecked with sea salt.

For the Dark Chocolate-Covered Kale Chips recipe, click here.

The red and white coloring of these floral white chocolate truffles is perfect for the holidays.

For the White Chocolate Hibiscus Truffles recipe, click here.

Use pre-packaged dough, or make your own peanut butter cookie dough (sans eggs), for these no-bake chocolate-covered cookie dough truffles. This is just one of 17 great things to do with a tube of store bought cookie dough.

For the No-Bake Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Truffles recipe, click here.