Description
These homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries (Cherry Cordials) are better than any that you can buy at the store. These are easy to make and only require a few pantry staple ingredients. You can’t beat making these chocolate covered cherries fresh at home. Add these to your Christmas traditions for a fun and delicious treat.
Ingredients
- 25–30 maraschino cherries
Confectionery Fondant
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate coating
- 3 cups dark or milk chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
1. Drain the juice from the maraschino cherries, then place on double lined paper towels. Pat the cherries dry. Place the cherries on a parchment paper lined quarter sheet pan and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, make the fondant. Using a handheld mixer with a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add all ingredients for the fondant. Mix until mixture is smooth and combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Remove the cherries from the freezer and the fondant from the fridge (if your fondant seems too loose and sticky, see note at bottom of recipe). Take a small piece of fondant and wrap around a cherry. Use your hands to roll the fondant around the cherry so it is smooth (the chocolate will cover the fondant so you want it to be round and smooth). Place wrapped cherry back on parchment paper lined sheet pan. Repeat with remaining cherries.
4. Place fondant wrapped cherries in freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Once wrapped cherries have chilled in the freezer, melt the chocolate wafers in a microwave small microwave safe bowl.
6. Get a clean sheet of parchment paper on a separate sheet pan.
7. Hold the cherries at the stem and dip the cherries in the chocolate. Remove from the chocolate and place on clean parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cherries.
8. Once the chocolate has hardened, place cherries in an airtight container and store on the counter in a cool, dark, dry place. Allow the cherries to sit for 3-7 days to allow the cherries to ripen and for the filling to liquify. Essentially, the longer you let the cherries sit, the more the filling will liquify. You can even let these sit for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Make sure you use cherries with the stem on. It makes it way easier to dip the cherries in the chocolate.
When you dip the cherries in the chocolate, make sure there are no holes. If there is a hole, the liquid cherry filling will leak out. You may have to dunk it twice in the chocolate.
The fondant filling takes time to liquify and get the characteristic cherry cordial juicy filling (of course you can eat them immediately if the liquid filling is not a big deal to you. They still taste delicious!). It can take up to a week for this to happen. Around day 3-4, the cherries have some liquid filling and are really good, so if you can’t wait too long, try waiting just 3-4 days.
These chocolate covered cherries can be soaked in a bourbon, or alcohol of your choice, overnight for a more adult version, if desired. Just drain the cherry juice out of the jar, then add bourbon to the jar and allow the cherries to soak overnight. Proceed with the recipe the next day.
This fondant is still slightly sticky after sitting in the fridge for an hour. It should be almost like a dough that you can shape it, but will still be slightly sticky. I recommend moistening your hands with some water, or spraying with nonstick cooking spray. It also helps to wash your hands after every few that you wrap to prevent more fondant getting stuck on your hands. It can be a little messy, but trust me it is worth it!
If the fondant seems too loose, you can add a touch more powdered sugar to the fondant to make the dough a bit stiffer.
- Prep Time: 20
- Chill Time: 150
- Category: Candy
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American