How to Make Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

Did you know you can make your own chocolate covered cherries at home? -- Well, you sure can! With just 5 simple ingredients and a little chocolate-dipping patience, you can whip up a batch of your very own Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries. And I must say, they taste even better than the store-bought ones.

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Chocolate covered cherries are a classic Valentine's Day and Christmas-time treat. And while the store-bought boxed ones sure are delicious, Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries are even that much better!

While homemade chocolate covered cherries may seem complicated to make, they are actually pretty easy. Admittedly they do take a bit of time, but each step itself is pretty straightforward and not difficult at all. In a nutshell, you mix up a simple filling dough, wrap each cherry in the dough, let the dough set overnight, and then dip the wrapped cherries in chocolate. With just a little dough-wrapping and chocolate-dipping patience, you'll have a delicious batch of chocolate covered cherries to enjoy that you made all on your own!

Even better than store-bought, homemade chocolate covered cherries are pure chocolate-cherry deliciousness.

And believe it or not, it only takes 5 ingredients to make homemade chocolate covered cherries. The star of the show is jarred maraschino cherries, of course. Using ones with stems makes for a beautiful presentation, as well as provides an easy handle to use when dipping the cherries in chocolate. Aside from the cherries, you just need sweetened condensed milk and confectioners' sugar for the filling dough, and then chocolate plus a little shortening for the chocolate coating.

Beautiful, delicious, and extra special because they're made by hand, Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries make for one perfect little gift-from-the-kitchen. 

What's to Love About This Recipe?

• Deliciousness! - Even better than store-bought, homemade chocolate covered cherries are pure chocolate-cherry deliciousness.
• Just 5 simple ingredients - No long list of ingredients here! Believe it or not, it takes just 5 simple ingredients to make homemade chocolate covered cherries. Simply grab some jarred maraschino cherries, confectioners' sugar + sweetened condensed milk for the filling, and chocolate chips (or melting wafers) + a bit of shortening for the chocolate coating.
• A fun candy project - While homemade chocolate covered cherries may look complicated to make, they're not. They do take some time, but with applying a little chocolate-dipping patience, they're a fun candy project to do at home -- with a simply delicious result.
• Perfect little gift-from-the-kitchen - Package up a dozen or so of these beauties for a perfectly tasty little gift-from-the-kitchen.

Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries Ingredients:

It takes just 5 simple ingredients to make Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries. To whip up a batch, you'll need:

• Maraschino cherries with stems - The star of the show. Use jarred maraschino cherries with stems for ease of chocolate-dipping, and be sure to drain them well to prevent the cherries from becoming too gooey as you work with them. 

• Confectioners' sugar - Also referred to as powdered sugar, this forms the base of the chocolate covered cherries' filling dough that's wrapped around the cherries before being dipped in chocolate.

• Sweetened condensed milk - Combines with the confectioners' sugar to create the chocolate covered cherries' filling, providing the moisture needed to form it into a workable dough. Be sure to pick up sweetened condensed milk in the baking aisle at the grocery store, not evaporated milk.

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate flavored melting wafers - Serves as the all-important chocolate coating for the chocolate covered cherries. Either chocolate chips or chocolate melting wafers/candy melts work just fine. We recommend choosing a good quality chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, for the best flavor.

• Shortening (such as Crisco) - Adding a small bit of shortening to the melted chocolate coating thins it a bit and helps more easily create a nice, smooth coating on the finished Chocolate Covered Cherries. Coconut or canola oil can be substituted.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries:

Making a batch of homemade chocolate covered cherries does take some time, but they're not difficult to make at all. -- Each step in the process itself is pretty straightforward.

In a nutshell, to make homemade chocolate covered cherries, you:

1. Drain the cherries
2. Mix the filling dough
3. Wrap the cherries in filling dough
4. Dip the cherries in chocolate 

Step 1: Drain the Cherries

To get a batch of homemade chocolate covered cherries started, first drain the liquid from some jarred maraschino cherries. Place the cherries on a couple layers of paper towels and allow them to drain some more. Then blot the cherries with paper towels to dry them thoroughly.

Step 2: Mix the Filling Dough

To make the cherries' filling dough, place some sweetened condensed milk and confectioners' sugar in a bowl. Mix the two ingredients together by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed until they're well combined. The mixture will be dry -- if it's too dry to form a bit together into a small ball, mix in a few drops of hot water.

Step 3: Wrap the Cherries in Filling Dough

For each cherry, take about 1 teaspoon of the sugar mixture and flatten it into a small disc. Set the cherry in the center of the disc.

Then use your fingers to form the dough disc around the cherry.

Keep working the dough around the cherry until the cherry is fully encased in an even layer of dough. If there's too much dough, you can pinch off the excess at the top of the cherry when you're done wrapping it.

Set the wrapped cherry aside on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

When you're done wrapping all the cherries in filling dough, cover the pan and refrigerate the wrapped cherries overnight. This firms and sets the filling dough before finishing the cherries with a dip in chocolate.

Step 4: Dip the Cherries in Chocolate

It wouldn't be chocolate covered cherries without the covering of chocolate, right?

To prepare the chocolate for dipping, melt together some semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate melting wafers and a small bit of shortening. Shortening thins the melted chocolate a bit and helps create a nice even coating on the cherries. -- A tablespoon of coconut oil or about 3 teaspoons of canola oil can be substituted. (See my post How to Melt Chocolate: On the Stove & In the Microwave for helpful tips on melting chocolate.)

Then working with one cherry at a time, gently hold a cherry by the stem and dip it in the melted chocolate to coat it completely. Also be sure to dip a little way up the stem to seal the filling dough well inside -- or it may leak out a bit as the cherries sit.

Let any excess chocolate drip off back into the melted chocolate.

Place the chocolate covered cherry on a wax paper-lined baking pan to allow the chocolate to set. Repeat this process until all the cherries have been dipped.

Chill the dipped cherries for about 15 minutes until the chocolate is set. Then store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to about 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to about 4 weeks.

Then you're ready to enjoy the cherry-chocolate deliciousness! Beautiful, delicious, and extra special because they're made by hand, Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries are one very tasty treat, for sure.

Recipe FAQs:

• Can I use maraschino cherries without stems to make homemade chocolate covered cherries? - Yes, you can use maraschino cherries without stems to make homemade chocolate covered cherries, but they will be a little more difficult to dip in chocolate since there's no stem to use as a handle when dipping.

• How do I store homemade chocolate covered cherries? - Store homemade chocolate covered cherries in a sealed container at room temperature for up to about 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to about 4 weeks.

• Can I freeze homemade chocolate covered cherries? - We do not recommend freezing homemade chocolate covered cherries. The moisture in the cherries expands when frozen, and can create cracks in the chocolate coating.

• Can I use candy melts or almond bark coating instead of chocolate chips to make homemade chocolate covered cherries? - Absolutely, you can use chocolate melting wafers/candy melts or almond bark coating instead of chocolate chips to make homemade chocolate covered cherries. -- All work equally as well, and which to use is truly a matter of preference.

• Do the centers of homemade chocolate covered cherries liquify over time? - When made with sweetened condensed milk in the filling dough, the centers of homemade chocolate covered cherries will liquify slightly over time, but will not be as liquified as store-bought ones.

Check out these other classic candy treats:

• Martha Washington Candy
• Homemade Marshmallows
• Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows
• Peanut Butter Buckeyes
• Homemade Andes Mints
• Cherry Oreo Balls
• Crock Pot Candy
• More cookie & candy recipes

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chocolate covered cherries, homemade chocolate covered cherries, how to make chocolate covered cherries, chocolate covered cherries with stems

Candy

American

Yield: about 75

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

Did you know you can make your own chocolate covered cherries at home? -- Well, you sure can! With just 5 simple ingredients and a little chocolate-dipping patience, you can whip up a batch of your very own Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries. And I must say, they taste even better than the store-bought ones.

Prep time: 2 HourInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 14 Hour

Ingredients

• 3 (10 oz.) jars maraschino cherries with stems
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 (16 oz.) packages confectioners' sugar
• 2 (12 oz.) packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 T. shortening

Instructions

Prepare cherries:

1. Drain liquid from cherries. Place cherries on a couple layers of paper towels; drain and dry cherries thoroughly.
2. Place sweetened condensed milk and confectioners' sugar in a bowl; mix by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Mixture will be dry -- if it is too dry to form some together into a small ball, mix in a few drops of hot water.
3. For each cherry, take about 1 teaspoon of sugar mixture and flatten it into a disc. Set the cherry in the center and form the dough disc around the cherry. Set aside on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
4. When done wrapping all cherries in the sugar mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Dip cherries in chocolate:

1. Combine chocolate chips and shortening in the top of a double boiler or small shallow mixing bowl set over simmering water. Stir frequently until chocolate chips are melted and smooth.
2. Remove melted chocolate from the pot of simmering water. Remove wrapped cherries from the refrigerator.
3. Working with one cherry at a time, hold gently by the stem and dip in chocolate to coat completely, being sure to dip a little way up the stem to seal the filling dough well inside. Let any excess chocolate drip off back into the melted chocolate.
4. Place on a wax paper-lined baking pan to allow chocolate to set.
5. Repeat until all cherries have been dipped in chocolate.
6. Chill the dipped cherries until the chocolate is set, about 15 minutes. Store in a sealed container until serving. Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries will keep for up to about 2 weeks at room temperature, or up to about 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

TRACEY'S NOTES:

1. Milk or dark chocolate melting wafers/candy melts can be substituted for the chocolate chips.
2. Shortening thins the melted chocolate a bit and helps create a nice even coating on the cherries. A tablespoon of coconut oil or about 3 teaspoons of canola oil can be substituted.
3. See my post How to Melt Chocolate: On the Stove & In the Microwave for helpful tips on melting chocolate.

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