chocolate and strawberry tacos

Ingredients:

For the Macerated Strawberries:

• 1/2 cup strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 orange, juiced

For the Cookies:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, or half a cup
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, good quality

For the Filling:

• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup chocolate ice cream
• 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 6 ounces chocolate, melted

Method:

For the Macerated Strawberries:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and allow to sit in fridge until needed. Stir occasionally.

For the Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
4. In a medium bowl combine the flour and cocoa powder. Mix well.
5. Now pour the wet ingredients from the saucepan into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
6. It’s easier to work in small batches for these cookies because they need to be hot to form the shape. Before you start to cook them, take out two to four wooden spoons, or any utensil with a round handle. Set them up on the counter so they are elevated.
7. I take two cups and invert them about 4 inches away from each other, then lay the wooden spoon across the top. That way it makes a sort of balance beam for the cookie to rest on to form it’s shape. I set up 2-4 at a time. Then I have a couple of plates nearby lined with paper towels so its soft for the cookies to sit on till needed after they are formed.
8. Make two cookies at a time. Spoon a small amount of the batter onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, spooning the dough onto the farthest end. Then do the same on the opposite end. The dough melts and spreads like no one's business, so make sure to allow room for it to spread.
9. Pop the cookie sheet in the oven for about 6-8 minutes. Take cookie sheet out and use scissors to cut the parchment paper in half, it will make it easier to remove cookie and form the shape.
10. Once you cut the sheet in half, take the first cookie and, working quickly and carefully, place it over the handles you rigged up earlier. It will hang over top and naturally form a moon shape, or taco shape. You can help it out by using your hands but work quickly, these things dry and harden fast.
11. Do the same thing with the second cookie. Allow them to set up for a few minutes, til cool, then remove each one from the spoons and place carefully on the paper towel lined plates.
12. Now you need to repeat this until all the cookies are shaped into taco shells. I was not kidding about it being tedious, but it’s totally worth it.
13. Once all the shells have cooled, you can start to assemble the tacos.

To Melt the Chocolate:

1. You can either place it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, checking it every 30 seconds. Or you can use a double boiler method.
2. I typically fill a small saucepan with water, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Then I set a heat proof glass bowl over top (do not let the bowl touch the water) and pop the chocolate inside in broken pieces.
3. This melts it evenly and keeps it smooth while you work on other elements.

To Assemble Chocolate Tacos:

1. Place each taco on a plate.
2. Scoop a little bit of each ice cream flavour inside.
3. Pile on some whipped cream.
4. Toss some strawberries over top.
5. Then drizzle with chocolate.