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Kayla and I started making Chocolate Covered Cherries for our annual Christmas Tins in 2011, and they were a huge hit! I try to find at least one new recipe to add to our Christmas tins every year, and that year I had been flipping through my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (I think this is the book my mom gave me in 1991), and I saw this Chocolate Covered Cherries recipe.
I figured that my dad would really love these! As it turned out everyone (who likes Chocolate Covered Cherries, that is) loved them; they said they were better than the ones you buy in the stores. So, of course, it was a no brainer that we had to make them part of our annual candy tins.
The first year (2011), I followed the recipe directions and bought cherries with stems. They worked great, and were definitely easy to dip. The next year (2012), I accidentally bought the ones without stems and decided to try using them anyway. I figured it would probably still work, and I was correct- personally, I think I actually prefer dipping the ones without stems because they fit in our Christmas tins better (no stems sticking up to get in the way). And since the cherries didn’t have a stem, Kayla was able to add decorative stripes on top with white candy melts that year. They looked so cute!
The one thing we did need to do the 2nd year (that I don’t remember needing to do the first year) was touch up some of the chocolate so that there would be no place for the liquid center to leak out. In hindsight, we realized it would probably be easier just to double dip the cherries rather then do touchups. These cherries are surprisingly fast and easy to make- they were definitely a keeper for our annual Christmas tins.
Pictured in the Christmas Tin below- clockwise from top: Red Stripes- Ranger PB Balls, White Stripes- Chocolate Covered Cherries, Green Stripes- Peanut Butter Balls, Cherry Mash, and Red and Green Stripes-Cookie Dough Truffles.
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Ingredients
- 60 Maraschino cherries, with or without stems, depending on your preference
- 3 Tbsp Butter, softened
- 3 Tbsp Corn Syrup
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 12 ounces Chocolate Candy Melts
Instructions
- Drain cherries and set on paper towels to dry.
- In a medium bowl, combine butter and corn syrup until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and knead to form a dough. Chill to stiffen, if necessary (we never need to chill our fondant- ours always ends up a nice texture).
- Wrap each cherry in about 1/2 to 1 tsp of dough. Chill until firm.
- Melt Candy Melts in a double boiler over low heat. Dip each cherry in by its stem (or use dipping tools, if using cherries without stems), and place on waxed paper lined baking sheets. After the chocolate coating sets, decorate tops with colored candy melts. We found that the disposable plastic candy melt bags work perfect for this. We used to use plastic squeeze bottles, but the bags are so much easier!
- Chill until completely set. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Best after 1 or 2 weeks because this will give the fondant around the cherry a chance to liquify.
