Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials are an easy to make candy recipe with just five ingredients. Make these special treats for the holidays!
Chocolate Cherry Cordials are an Easy Homemade Candy Recipe that’s perfect for the holidays or any special occasion. For more easy chocolate-coated desserts try out Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Chocolate Covered Pretzels.
Table of contents
- About our Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Recipe
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
- Nutritional Facts
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Tips & Tricks
- How to Store Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
- Ideas to Serve Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
- FAQ for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
- Recipe Card
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Variations
- Related Recipes
About our Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Recipe
Chocolate Covered Cherries are a delicious homemade candy and a decadent chocolate gift for the holidays. They’re made with maraschino cherries wrapped in a buttercream fondant and dipped in chocolate. They may look super fancy but they are actually much easier to make and don’t take that much time. Really the time comes from letting them set for a couple days to get that luxurious creamy center. Whether you place them on a treat tray at your Christmas party or make them for an extra special Valentine’s gift, these special cherries in chocolate are sure to be a delight.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Ingredients
- Cherries: Juicy maraschino cherries in syrup are perfect for Chocolate Covered Cherries for a couple reasons. Their fruity flavor pairs beautifully with the chocolate and their juice seeps into the fondant to make an extra sweet, liquid cream center. Plus they are shelf stable so you can keep them at room temperature and they are already pitted so prep time is a breeze!
- Fondant: The homemade fondant is made with butter, light corn syrup, and powdered sugar. It acts as a barrier between cherries and chocolate coating and turns gives the cordial cherries their amazing creamy center. You want a thicker fondant that sticks to the cherries when you dip them in chocolate.
- Chocolate: You want to use melting wafers for a smooth chocolate coating around these Chocolate Cordial Cherries. The chocolate melts are a bit more expensive but for these special candy cordials it’s worth the extra cost. The disks are a better quality chocolate than cheap chocolate chips or bar chocolate so it is smoother plus it sets nicely because it’s meant to be a candy coating.
- Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar makes the fondant smooth and the extra fine sugar will dissolve into the cherry juices and corn syrup to form a liquid fondant center over time. It’s also handy to keep the fondant from sticking as you wrap it around the maraschino cherries.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer: The stand mixer isn’t a must have but it definitely makes mixing quicker and easier on the arms! Since you want a stiff fondant, not a liquid fondant, it tends to get hard to stir by hand and a hand mixer can get unstable with the thick dough.
- Double Boiler: Instead of the microwave chocolate melting process, use a double boiler on the stove top instead. Place a heat safe bowl over a simmering pan of water. The bowl should rest on top without touching the water or bottom of the pan. Make sure not even a drop of water splashes into the bowl or you won’t have smooth chocolate. Once the chocolate begins melting, removee the bowl from heat and stir until smooth.
How to Make Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
Time needed: 30 minutes.
- Make the Fondant
Add the butter and corn syrup to your stand mixer, and mix to combine. Add the powdered sugar, mix until a stiff dough forms. The sugar mixture will get soft if it’s left too long at room temperature so begin wrapping it around the cherries right away or chill fondant until ready to use.
- Wrap the Cherries in Fondant
Use about a teaspoon of dough to wrap around each cherry. That way, it’s a nice thin layer. If the fondant is sticking to your fingers, dust your hands with powdered sugar to make the process easier.
- Chill in Refrigerator until Coating Sets
Lay the wrapped cherries out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate them. You can also use wax paper.
- Melt the Chocolate
Put the chocolate melting wafers in a heatproof bowl. To melt the chocolate for dipping, microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each one until smooth. Then dip the cherries in the chocolate. Let any excess chocolate drip off, before you put them back on the baking sheet.
- Set the Cordial Center:
Give the Cherry Cordials enough time to harden on the baking tray. For that amazing liquid center, you should chill them for at least a couple days before serving. But you can also serve them as soon as the chocolate hardens.
Nutritional Facts
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Tips & Tricks
Tips to get the perfect Cherry Cordials!
- Prevent Sticky Fondant
- As you are wrapping the cherries, the fondant might get warm and sticky. Dust your hands with powdered sugar to prevent sticking, or if its too soft pop it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to stiffen it back up.
- Give the Cordial Cherries Time
- The fondant will naturally soften naturally but if you like a syrupy liquid center in your Chocolate Cordial Cherries, you want to give them time for juice to break down the sugars. If you serve them right away, they will have a thicker creamy center.
How to Store Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
Serve: To make sure they stay fresh and prevent them from melting, you don’t want to keep Chocolate-covered Cherry Cordials at room temperature for more than a few hours.
Store: For storage, keep these Chocolate Cherries in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The Cherry Cordials will stay good for 2-3 weeks.
Freeze: Homemade Chocolate Cherry Cordials can crack open when the liquid in the center freezes. The candy will still taste fine, so if you have leftovers and don’t care about the way they look, you can feel free to freeze them for up to 3 months.
Ideas to Serve Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
Decorations: Before the chocolate hardens, you can sprinkle on some different decorations for a more festive look. Try sanding sugar, sprinkles, flaky sea salt, or sugar pearls before the chocolate hardens. They’ll stick to the melted chocolate and stay on as it sets. You can also pipe red or white melted chocolate in a swirling pattern over the cherries before refrigerating.
Candy Box: If you want to gift your Cordial Cherries in a fancy way, prepare a candy box. Grab some festive candy boxes and paper candy cups at the craft store. Fill all the paper candy cups with the cordials or mix it up with Dark Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Caramels and other homemade chocolates.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials with Fresh Cherries
Rinse the fresh cherries to clean them before making the chocolate cordial cherries. Place the cherries on a paper towel and let them dry completely. Prepare the fondant and wrap can wrap them in the candy fondant coating and dip in the melted chocolate to finish.
FAQ for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
Chocolate-dipped cherries actually taste the best when made a full two weeks ahead of time. I recommend making this recipe early. Then you can store them in a cool place until you’re ready to serve them. They still taste great as soon as the chocolate sets, but they’re even better when the middle is nice and creamy.
You can use fresh cherries, instead of maraschino cherries but keep in mind they won’t be quite as sweet as the cherries in syrup. Fresh cherries also have pits, so make sure to remove them before the fondant step. There are instructions above to use fresh cherries.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter , room temperature
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 2 cups powdered sugar , sifted
- 60 maraschino cherries
- 1 pound milk chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- In a stand mixer add the butter and corn syrup together until smooth then add in the powder sugar until it forms a stiff dough.
- Dry the cherries well and wrap each cherry in a teaspoon of the dough then refrigerate all the cherries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate melting wafers and dip the cherries before setting onto the baking sheet to harden.
- The cherries are best when served after ripening for 2 weeks. Store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials Variations
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordials: If you are a dark chocolate lover, swap in dark chocolate melting disks or other dark chocolate pieces meant for melting and coating candy.
Flavorings: For some extra flavor try mixing in a teaspoon vanilla extract or a teaspoon almond extract with the melted chocolate before you dip the cherries in.
Cherry Syrup: For more cherry flavor in the fondant, you can add a tablespoon of the syrup from the jar of cherries. If using fresh cherries, you could make your own syrup by reducing some cherries with sugar and water.
Boozy Cherry Cordials: Make an adult version by leaving the cherries in brandy or rum. Place the cherries in a bowl with liquor, cover and chill overnight in the fridge. Just make sure you label the cordials where you soaked cherries in liquor so kids don’t eat them.
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