The Costco Valentine's Day Treat Shoppers Would Rather Make Themselves

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, which means it's time to figure out what treats you'll be enjoying this year. In February, just about every grocery store starts selling V-Day treats for you to buy if you don't want to make anything yourself — including Costco, which is offering a box of chocolate-covered strawberries, a quintessential Valentine's dessert. The container. priced at $14.99, appears to contain about 16 chocolate-dipped strawberries, drizzled with white chocolate.

While just about everyone would agree that chocolate-covered strawberries are a delicious and festive Valentine's Day treat, not everyone thinks that buying them at Costco is the way to go. In a previous year when the treats were a bit cheaper at $12.99, one person on Reddit wrote, "I saw this for the first time at my local Costco. $13 for 9 strawberries. You have to be kidding me." Another user posted last year about how these treats "taste weird." Yet a another complained that the chocolate-covered strawberries at their closest Costco looked "underripe."

Even without mentioning where the Costco product falls flat, many Reddit users would prefer to just make this dessert at home. One Redditor wrote, "It's such an easy thing to make, and it's fun. I don't know why people would buy this." Another described making them at home as "insanely easy," noting that this yields "more for less money."

Making chocolate-covered strawberries at home is not only cheaper than buying a box at Costco but also extremely easy. Another perk? You can customize the treats exactly to your preferences. This may mean replicating Costco's version by dipping the strawberries in milk chocolate, then drizzling with white chocolate. Or it could mean swapping in dark chocolate for either the base or as the drizzle. Make a trifecta of chocolate-covered strawberries by dipping them in each type of chocolate. You can also add toppings such as nuts, sprinkles, or even mini chocolate chips to coat the outer layer.

Additionally, you can take extra steps to ensure that this homemade dessert comes out as perfect as possible, including using shortening, a rich ingredient that you don't want to skip, for a smooth, shiny finish. Avoid the common mistakes (like choosing the wrong chocolate) you might be making with chocolate-covered strawberries to ensure that the finished product is as delicious and aesthetically-pleasing as possible. Once you perfect the process, you'll never have to buy an overpriced container of this dessert ever again.