Cherry Bombs are the perfect boozy party treat made with maraschino cherries soaked in vodka and dipped in white chocolate.
This 4-ingredient recipe is the perfect boozy, sweet Appetizer for a 4th of July Party, especially served with refreshing summer Drinks like Sangrias or Mojitos. You can also switch up the sparkly sprinkles for a New Year’s Eve party, Bridal Shower, or any other special occasion all year round.
Table of Contents
Sabrina’s Cherry Bombs Recipe
Cherry Bombs could not be easier to make. The only thing to keep in mind is that you want to start this recipe a couple of days in advance so that the maraschino cherries have enough time to soak in vodka. However, as long as you plan ahead, this boozy treat requires very little hands-on time. It’s a simple matter of leaving the cherries to soak, then adding the white chocolate and sugar coating once they’re ready.
The sweet, boozy cherries are not only delicious but the candy red cherries and blue sanding sugar make them a bright and beautiful addition to any summer party or dessert spread. You can add them to a platter with other treats like Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Chocolate Covered Pretzels. You can also use the Cherry Bombs to decorate desserts like a Chocolate Cake.
Ingredients
- 10 Ounces Maraschino Cherries: To make Cherry Bombs, purchase a 10-ounce jar of tart cherries and carefully drain the cherry juice. You’ll want to use cherries with stems, and be sure not to pull the stems off when you’re preparing the recipe. Keeping the stems attached makes it easy to serve the cherries as finger foods since your guests can grab the cherries by the stem. If you accidentally purchased stemless cherries, you can always add toothpicks to the cherries when you dip them in chocolate. Just keep the toothpicks in so your guests can easily grab a cherry.
- 1 Cup Vodka: Soaking the maraschino cherries in vodka gives this recipe a fun, boozy kick, perfect for a holiday party. Vodka is a great option because it’s relatively flavorless, so you won’t have a strong alcohol taste overpowering the cherries. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a high-quality bottle, but it’s also best not to go too cheap. A mid-range bottle of vodka will be perfect for this recipe, and you can use the remaining alcohol to make some classic cocktails. If you want to make Cherry Bombs non-alcoholic, simply omit this ingredient and the vodka soaking step.
- 6 Ounces White Chocolate Melting Discs: Coating the sweet and sour cherries in white chocolate is the perfect way to cancel out any traces of alcohol flavor with a sweet candy coating. Melt 6-ounce white chocolate melting discs until you have a silky smooth mixture to dip the cherries in.
- ¼ Cup Blue Sanding Sugar: Finish the cherry candies with decorative sanding sugar. Blue sanding sugar is the classic choice. You’ll want to add it to the bottom of the cherries so that you can still see a layer of white chocolate. You want the layer of blue, white, and red to show. If you can’t find blue sanding sugar, just use white sanding sugar and color it yourself by mixing a drop at a time into the sugar in a ziplock or plastic storage bag until you reach the desired color.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Paper Towels: You’ll use paper towels to dry your cherries, so be sure to have a few on hand when you’re ready to prepare them.
- Medium Microwave-Save Bowl: Grab a bowl that will fit all of the melting discs, with room for stirring. Make sure it is microwave safe because that is the easiest way to melt the white chocolate.
- Small Bowl: Use a smaller bowl to hold the blue sugar, which will be the final dip for your cherries. Using a small bowl is ideal so that the sugar is not spread out too thin in a large bowl.
- Baking Sheet: You will line a cookie sheet or baking sheet with wax paper for your cherries to dry after dipping. Be sure to leave some space in between each cherry so they don’t get stuck together.
- Wax Paper: Line the cookie sheet with wax paper to ensure your cherries don’t stick to the pan. Lifting dry cherries off the baking sheet will make serving them super easy.
How to Make
Time needed: 2 days and 30 minutes.
- Soak Cherries
Drain the juice from the jar of maraschino cherries, then fill the cherry jar with vodka. Place the jar in the fridge and let the cherries soak for 2 days. Note you can keep the leftover juice for cocktails.
- Drain Cherries
After 2 days, you can strain the vodka from the cherry jar. Drain the vodka into another jar or sealed container to keep for later. You can mix the leftover cherry-flavored vodka into lemonade or other drink recipes. Use paper towels to pat the cherries dry.
- Melt Chocolate
Add the white chocolate melting discs to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments. Stir between each microwaving session until the melted chocolate is smooth.
- Chocolate Dip
Add blue sanding sugar to a small bowl and line a baking sheet with wax paper. Then, dip the maraschino cherries into the white chocolate so that the lower half is coated. Let excess chocolate drip off the cherry.
- Sugar Dip
Then dip the lower half of the white chocolate into the blue sugar.
- Dry
Place the dipped cherry onto the prepared baking sheet, pressing down gently so that it doesn’t fall over. Then, repeat the same process with the rest of the cherries.
- Serve
Let the Cherry Bombs harden for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 10 ounces maraschino cherries , with stems, drained
- 1 cup vodka
- 6 ounces white chocolate melting discs
- 1/4 cup blue sanding sugar
Instructions
- Drain the maraschino cherries in the jar then refill the jar with the vodka.
- Place in your refrigerator for 2 days.
- Remove the cherries (keep the vodka for another use – this is delicious mixed with lemonade).
- Pat dry very well with paper towels.
- Add the white chocolate melting discs to a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave at 50-percent power in 30-second increments until stirring is smooth.
- Add the blue sanding sugar to a small bowl.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Dip the maraschino cherry halfway into the white chocolate then dip the lower half of the white chocolate into the blue sanding sugar.
- Place gently onto the baking sheet and press down gently to make a white chocolate base so the cherries don’t fall over.
- Let harden for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I make Cherry Bombs in advance?
Yes, this is a great treat to prep ahead of time for the next time you’re hosting. You can make the entire recipe a few days in advance and store the Cherry Bombs in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. You can also simply soak the cherries in vodka ahead of time. After draining the vodka, you can keep the boozy cherries in a jar in your fridge for a couple days until you’re ready to coat them in white chocolate and sugar for the Cherry Bomb recipe.
Nutritional Facts
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Follow these helpful tips and these boozy treats are sure to be the bomb!
- Dry Thoroughly
- Make sure you dry the cherries thoroughly. If you’re concerned that they aren’t dry enough, let them set out on a dry towel or paper towel to air dry the last bit after patting them dry. If you use a towel, use a red one, or a dark color, so the red color won’t stain the towel.
- Choose Discs over Chips
- Melting discs are indicated in this recipe because they melt smoother than white chocolate chips. If you use chips and struggle when melting or dipping, try switching to melting discs. They may be harder to find, but look in your local craft store if your grocery store doesn’t carry them.
How to Store
- Serve: Wait for the white chocolate coating to harden before serving the Cherry Bomb recipe. They’ll keep well at room temperature for up to 4 hours, so they’re excellent for serving at a party.
- Store: If you’ve made them in advance, you can cover the cherries in plastic wrap or pop them in an airtight container to store in the fridge. They’ll keep well for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: You can also freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. For best results, place the Cherry Bombs in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, lay the baking sheet flat in the freezer and let them harden for an hour or two. Once the cherries have frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag to store.
Ideas to Serve Cherry Bombs
Create a festive 4th of July spread with these Cherry Bombs on your food table. Just be sure to indicate that they are alcoholic and for 21 and up only. Set your Cherry Bombs out alongside 4th of July Cupcakes, 4th of July Ice Cream Casserole, American Flag Cake, or this red, white, and blue Mixed Berry Trifle. You can also create your own red white and blue cocktail table by serving Red Wine Sangria with blueberries and apples, Cosmopolitan Cocktails with blueberries and pears, red, white, and blue jello shots, and these Cherry Bombs.
Frequent Questions
It depends on if you want a cherry bomb cocktail or shot. Like this recipe, a cherry bomb cocktail requires maraschino cherries. The drink recipe is typically made with some type of lime soda (such as Sprite), white rum, grenadine syrup, lime juice, and maraschino cherries. This is different than a cherry bomb shot, which is typically made with Red Bull, grenadine, and cherry liqueur or vodka.
These cherry treats are perfect for serving at a holiday party, cocktail hour, or any event when you want something sweet and fun that your guests are sure to love.
Yes. After soaking the maraschino cherries in vodka, they absorb a good amount of the alcohol, making this a boozy treat. Because of how small they are, each cherry won’t contain too much alcohol, but it’s important to keep the alcohol content in mind before you eat a bunch of these. If you prefer not to have alcohol in the recipe, you can always skip soaking the cherries in vodka. Instead, just drain the maraschino liquid, dry the cherries, and skip straight to adding the white chocolate coating.
Variations
- Chocolate: This recipe calls for white chocolate; however, if you prefer, you could dip the boozy cherries in melted dark or milk chocolate. You can also keep the recipe the same with the white chocolate coating, but melt a little bit of dark or milk chocolate to drizzle over the top of the cherry bombs.
- Flavored Vodka: You can enhance the flavor of this recipe by swapping out the regular vodka for flavored vodka. Vanilla vodka, lemon vodka, cherry vodka, orange vodka, and apricot vodka are all delicious options to try.
- Liquor: If you prefer a different kind of spirit, you could also soak the maraschino cherries in white rum, gin, or tequila. Clear liquors will go best with the cherry and white chocolate flavor.
- Christmas Cherry Bombs: To make this recipe perfect for a Christmas party, swap out the blue sanding sugar for Christmas sprinkles. You can use a mixture of red and green sprinkles or just use green sanding sugar. The green sugar looks great because the finished cherries have a layer of green, white, and red color showing. You can also alter the color of the sanding sugar to match any occasion for which you make this recipe. For example, using pink sanding sugar for Valentine’s Day.
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