Okay who is Claire Robinson and why is she stealing all my best ideas? It is particularly annoying because somehow she has figured out a way to steal all my best ideas before I even have them. Now that’s nefarious!

Last year I made Chili Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were an excellent inspiration I’d had while nibbling on a candy bar from Lindt. It was a chili chocolate candy bar made from very dark chocolate and a hint of heat in the form of chili powder.

It was a sumptuously interesting bite of chocolate too, and I immediately knew it would find its way into a cookie from my kitchen. Though I had enjoyed chili-infused chocolate before during my travels in Mexico, this Lindt version was the first time I had seen this combination of flavors north of the border– in a nationally available brand.

I was very pleased with those cookies and I recently had the hankering to make them again. But, you know what? I nailed those cookies the first time I made them. They were no challenge to me at all. I craved a chocolaty, chili-induced challenge. And then, at that precise moment it hit me… just like the Chili Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe the idea for another chili chocolate recipe popped into my head fully formed. Chocolate Chili Dipped Strawberries!