Chocolate Covered Cherries

Scrumptious homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries are a cinch to make with just a handful of ingredients. They always look so incredibly beautiful on my holiday candy and cookie trays. Or box them, wrap them, and give them as a holiday gift.

I love to drizzle them with different kinds of chocolate for an even more dramatic flair. I love to delight my friends and family and make a batch for Christmas Eve. They look gorgeous on my holiday trays with Peanut Clusters, Buckeye Balls, Snowball Cookies, and Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies.

Why this recipe works

• With only six ingredients, these gorgeous candies come together easily without any fancy tools. Just a little mixing, rolling, dunking, and drizzling to create these beauties.
• These scrumptious treats are so much better than the store-bought brands with fresh ingredients and good quality products.
• All the ingredients for this yummy recipe are easily found at your local grocery store. In fact, you might already have some of the ingredients already on hand.

How to make Chocolate Covered Cherries

Start by drying your cherries real well. I get them out of the jar and lay them on paper towels. Then, I dab them with extra paper towels and let them sit while I work the rest of the recipe.

Now using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and the maraschino cherry juice. Then add the last cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the side and forms a soft ball. Refrigerate the fondant mixture for 30 minutes. Then roll them into a little less than 1-inch balls and flatten them with the palms of your hands. Now add a cherry to the center pulling up the fondant around the cherry. Next, roll it into a smooth ball and place it on a parchment paper or wax paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Continue until all the fondant is rolled up around the cherries, placing them about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes uncovered.

Next, melt the chocolate for dipping the cherries. I stir in about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or shortening to thin it out. Then I use a fork to dip the cherries in the chocolate carefully. Gently sliding them off the fork with a table knife. Let them sit until the chocolate sets. If desired, melt white chocolate and drizzle over the cherries. For an over-the-top presentation, melt some dark chocolate and drizzle over the cherries too!

Recipe notes and helpful tips

• Thoroughly dry the cherries so the fondant batter sticks to them.
• You can use stemmed maraschino cherries or maraschino cherries with the stems removed. I have always found it so much easier to work with the ones without stems as it is so much easier to roll the powdered sugar mixture around them. However, that said, you can dip the stemmed ones in the melted chocolate using the stem.
• When rolling the fondant around the cherries, lightly dust your hands with powdered sugar.
• You can use candy melts as they are easier to work with, but I think the chocolate chips give them a genuine taste. 
• If you like the combination of cherry and almond, add a few drops of almond extract to the dough mixture. 
• Don’t skip the chilling periods, as fondant is so much easier to roll after being chilled, and the balls are much easier to dunk in melted chocolate when frozen.
• Use semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips.
• If you like liquid centers, let them sit for about a week before enjoying them. 
• Store the chocolate-covered cherries in an airtight container in a cool portion of the kitchen or in the fridge for up to 8 weeks.

More candies you will love!

Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe

These fun and festive Chocolate Covered Cherries are a cinch to make with just a handful of ingredients.  They will make your Christmas candy and cookie trays look gorgeous.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: candy

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 20 servings

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 1 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries (reserving 1/4 cup juice)
• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
• 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil or shortening
• 4 ounces white chocolate chips optional
• 4 ounces dark chocolate chips optional

Instructions

• Lay the cherries out on paper towels.  Dab them dry several times with paper towels and let them sit will you start the rest of the recipe. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. 
• Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine the butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, and 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice.  Add the last cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the side and forms a soft ball.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Roll in a little less than 1-inch balls and flatten with the palms of your hands.  Add the cherry to the center pulling up the fondant around the cherry.  Roll it into a smooth ball and place the prepared baking sheet.  Continue until all the fondant is rolled up around the cherries, placing them about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes uncovered.
• Melt the semisweet chocolate and coconut oil for dipping the cherries according to the instructions on the package of chocolate. Using a fork, carefully dip the cherries in the chocolate.  Gently sliding them off the fork using a table knife onto a parchment-covered sheet.  Let them sit until the chocolate sets.
• If desired, melt white chocolate and drizzle over the cherries.  For an over-the-top presentation, melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over the cherries too.

Notes

• Thoroughly dry the cherries so the fondant batter sticks to them.
• You can use stemmed maraschino cherries or maraschino cherries that have the stems removed.  I have always found it so much easier to work with the ones without stems as it is so much easier to roll the powdered sugar mixture around them.  However that said you can dip the stemmed ones in the melted chocolate using the stem.
• When rolling the fondant around the cherries lightly dust your hands with powdered sugar.
• Don't skip the chilling periods as fondant is so much easier to roll after being chilled and the balls are much easier to dunk in melted chocolate when frozen.
• Store the cherries in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 8 weeks.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

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