You can make chocolate covered cherries at home, with just a few ingredients! These homemade chocolate covered cherries have sweet cherries, a juicy filling, and a rich chocolate coating. They’re perfect for special occasions, the holidays, or just because!
Chocolate Covered Cherries are surprisingly easy to make at home, with just a few ingredients – the only hard part is they need a little time! They’re a perfect treat to make for Christmas, or Valentine’s Day, and especially for enjoying as gifts!
The best part about chocolate covered cherries is biting into them and having the juicy, sweet liquid touch your mouth along with the chocolate and the sweet cherry. To do this we are making a simple fondant with powdered sugar and a couple other ingredients that will coat the cherries, and after a few days, or a couple weeks will turn into that sweet liquid center.
Why make this Recipe
- Cheaper than Store Bought – Depending what ingredients you already have at home, these chocolate cherries can be a lot, or a little cheaper than a box of chocolate covered cherries from the store.
- Delicious Flavor Combination – The sweet, juicy cherries pair so nicely with the rich chocolate coating!
- So Impressive – These cherries are perfect for gifts, parties, or simply to impress your family and friends. They will hardly believe that you made these chocolate covered cherries yourself!
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Chocolate Covered Cherry Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Maraschino cherries – you can use cherries with stems for easy dipping, or without
- unsalted butter
- light corn syrup
- invertase – this is an enzyme that will turn your glucose (sugar) fondant into liquid giving you that sweet liquidy filling. (It can be skipped, it may take longer for your cherry centers to turn liquidy)
- salt – do not add salt if you’re using salted butter. You just want a dash.
- powdered sugar – to make the fondant like mixture to coat the cherries.
- chocolate – you can use milk chocolate chips, semi sweet, or dark chocolate
Variations
- Add Liquor – Soak the cherries in brandy, vodka, or rum for 24 hours before draining and patting them dry to make a fun alcoholic treat.
- Add Extracts – Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, almond extract, or cherry extract to the fondant mixture. If you need a little extra powdered sugar for the extra moisture, add 1 TBS at a time.
- Different Cherries – Instead of Maraschino Cherries, you can use other canned cherries that are pitted and soaked in Syrup. You can use Dark Sweet Cherries, or other Cocktail cherries like Amarena Cherries or Marasca Cherries.
How to make Chocolate Covered Cherries
Step 1: Prepare the Cherries. Drain the cherries from their jar of juice, and lay them out on paper towels. Pat them dry to remove as much of the liquid as you can.
Step 2: Make the fondant. Mix the corn syrup, butter, invertase, salt, and powdered sugar in a bowl. It will seem really dry and crumbly at first, and then it will start to come together. You want it thick enough to hold itself in a ball.
Step 3: Cover the cherries in the fondant. Take a small teaspoon of the fondant and flatten it in your hand. Add a cherry to the middle, and use your fingers to wrap the fondant evenly around the cherry. Roll it into a ball with your hands and place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with all the cherries and fondant. Then chill the tray for about an hour.
Step 4: Dip the cherries in chocolate. Add the chocolate to a double boiler and melt the chocolate chips over medium low heat. Stir until the chocolate is totally melted. Dip the cherries into the chocolate coating them fully. Use the cherry stems, or a fork to lift the cherries out of the chocolate. Place them on a sheet of parchment paper. Let them sit until the chocolate is set. Let the cherries sit at room temperature (or in the fridge if your house is warm) for at least two weeks.
Tips and Tricks
- Dry Cherries Well – Make sure that the Maraschino Cherries are dried really well before you wrap them in fondant or the fondant will not stick to the cherries.
- Decorate the Cherries – Drizzle additional chocolate, or melted white chocolate over the dipped cherries for a nice decorative touch.
- Wait two weeks – The cherries will taste delicious without waiting, but if you want the traditional liquid centers then you will need to wait at least 2 weeks. You can taste a cherry or two to see if they’re ready then you will know when they’re ready to share.
Storage Instructions
The chocolate covered cherries should be stored for at least 2 to 4 weeks to get the gooey centers, after that they can be stored for another 4 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. If you want them for Christmas, you can make them in early December, or the end of November.
It is not recommended to freeze these cherries.
Homemade chocolate covered cherries are so decadent, and delicious, and dare I say are even better than store bought chocolate covered cherries. You’ll love adding these cherries to your holiday routine, for your parties and cookie platters!
More Christmas Candies
If you try these Chocolate Covered Cherries, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Ingredients
- 50 Maraschino Cherries (With or without Stems)
- 3 TBS unsalted butter
- 3 TBS light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp invertase (optional, but makes the fondant inside extra gooey)
- 1 dash salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 16 oz chocolate chips
Instructions
- Drain the cherries from the juice, and pat them dry well with paper towels. 50 Maraschino Cherries
- Combine the butter, corn syrup, invertase and salt in a medium bowl. 3 TBS unsalted butter, 3 TBS light corn syrup , 1/2 tsp invertase, 1 dash salt
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until you can combine the whole thing. You might need to use your hands to knead it together. Dust them in powdered sugar to prevent too much of the mixture from sticking to them. Combine until you have a nice ball of fondant. 2 cups powdered sugar
- If the mixture is too soft, stick it in the fridge to chill.
- Take 1 teaspoon of the fondant mixture and flatten it with your hands. Place one cherry in the middle and use your fingers to wrap the sugar mixture around the cherry. Roll it between your hands to make it a smooth ball.
- Place the cherry on a baking pan lined with parchment paper, and repeat with additional cherries and fondant.
- Chill the cherries for 1 hour in the fridge.
- Add the chocolate chips to the top of a double boiler with 1 inch of water in the bottom. Heat on medium low on the stove top, stirring regularly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. 16 oz chocolate chips Remove from heat once the chocolate is melted.
- Dip the cherries one at time into the melted chocolate. Use a spoon to cover the cherries completely in the chocolate.
- Use the stem to lift the cherry out of the chocolate if it has one and place it on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. If it doesn't, lift the cherry out with a fork, and tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to remove extra chocolate. Gently tap the fork on the parchment paper to slide the cherry onto the tray.
- Let the candies sit until the chocolate is set.
- Cover the cherries with a lid and let them sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks until the fondant is ripened, and liquefied.
Notes
- Dry Cherries Well – Make sure that the Maraschino Cherries are dried really well before you wrap them in fondant or the fondant will not stick to the cherries.
- Decorate the Cherries – Drizzle additional chocolate, or melted white chocolate over the dipped cherries for a nice decorative touch.
- Wait two weeks – The cherries will taste delicious without waiting, but if you want the traditional liquid centers then you will need to wait at least 2 weeks. You can taste a cherry or two to see if they’re ready then you will know when they’re ready to share.
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