Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe

Wrapped in fondant and enrobed in chocolate, this homemade chocolate covered cherries recipe makes the quintessential Valentine’s Day treat. These chocolate covered cherries look complicated, but they’re actually pretty easy to make at home. Knead confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, and softened butter into a sticky fondant dough, wrap it around pitted, store-bought maraschino cherries, freeze, then dip in melted chocolate. The hardest part? Waiting for the cherry centers to mature for at least a week before taking a bite!

Why Make Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries?

In my opinion, seasonal candy peaks at Valentine’s Day. While candy corn and peppermint bark and mini eggs all have their devoted fans, the conversation hearts, chocolate truffles, heart-shaped gummies, and foil-wrapped chocolate roses that fill the shelves in February make V-Day a tough “candy holiday” to beat. With their bright maraschino cherry centers, gooey, liquid-y fondant, and crisp chocolate shells, I think chocolate covered cherries are the best Valentine candy of all, and this homemade version tastes taste just like the store-bought kind sold in the candy aisle at the drugstore!

Ingredients for Making Chocolate Covered Cherries

• Maraschino Cherries – This recipe makes approximately 25 chocolate covered cherries, and you’ll need one cherry for each. Make sure you’re choosing maraschino cherries (usually sold in a glass jar, in liquid) not sticky glacé cherries. Pitted and stemmed (sometimes sold as “salad-style) maraschino cherries work best; otherwise, you’ll need to remove the pits and stems before wrapping the cherries. Do not use fresh cherries.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar (also called icing sugar or powdered sugar) makes the fondant base. Take time to sift the sugar before making the dough, to prevent hard bits of sugar in the finished fondant.
• Light Corn Syrup – You’ll need an invert sugar, such as light corn syrup, to make the fondant, and prevent it from crystallizing. I prefer the Golden Barrel brand. If you can’t find corn syrup, replace it with another invert sugar syrup, such as light Karo syrup, or liquid glucose.

• Unsalted Butter – Softening the butter makes it more malleable, and easier to work smoothly into the fondant dough. I prefer to use unsalted butter, but you can substitute salted without much difference in the finished product.
• Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract flavors the homemade fondant. You can use more vanilla extract, substitute vanilla bean paste, replace the vanilla with almond extract, or add cherry flavoring (or a small amount of the maraschino cherry liquid) for a more pronounced cherry flavor. For vanilla and almond extracts, I recommend the Nielsen-Massey brand.
• Chocolate – Choose a good-quality milk or dark chocolate couverture for enrobing the fondant centers. I enrobed my cherries in Callebaut 33.6% Belgian milk chocolate. Valrhona Jivara 40% is another favorite. Dark chocolate (such as Callebaut 54.5% dark, or Valrhona Manjari 64%) will also work. I don’t recommend white chocolate, which is naturally quite sweet—white chocolate plus sugary fondant will produce a cloyingly sweet candy, and white chocolate also makes it difficult to spot any holes or breaks in the chocolate. If you’d prefer not to temper your chocolate, you can also use chocolate coating wafers or candy melts. See my notes on tempering and enrobing, below.

Notes on Tempered Chocolate

In simplified terms, tempering describes the process of heating and cooling chocolate couverture to specific temperatures, producing chocolate with a signature shine and snap. Tempering requires time and patience; it can be complex and difficult to master. You can find tempering tutorials online, such as this one by Callebaut, and this one by Valhrona. It’s also worth checking to see if your chocolate manufacturer or supplier offers a temperature guide for their particular product.

If you aren’t familiar with tempering, you can use candy wafers (sometimes known by a range of other names such as melting chocolate, melting wafers, confectionery coating, candy wafers, or dipping chocolate) instead. Candy wafers come pre-tempered and allow you to enrobe without tempering. This recipe does not work well with chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that make them better suited to chocolate chip cookies othan for coating and enrobing.

“Touching Up” the Chocolate Coating

After dipping, carefully inspect each chocolate covered cherry to make sure that there are no breaks, holes, or open spots in the chocolate. (You might notice a bit of visible white fondant, or a spot of cherry liquid seeping through.) If there are open spots in the chocolate coating, the fondant will leak as it liquefies.

If you notice any open spots, use a food safe paintbrush to “touch up” with a second coat of melted chocolate.

Tips and Tricks

• Dry the cherries. Drain the maraschino cherries by passing them through a fine mesh strainer, then arrange on a paper towel to dry. It will prove difficult to wrap the fondant around the cherries if the fruit is too wet.
• Start early. It’s important to plan ahead if making these chocolate covered cherries for Valentine’s Day. The coated cherries must rest for 1-2 weeks before serving, allowing the fondant around the cherry to liquefy, creating the gooey centers.
• Check for breaks. After enrobing the fondant centers, take a moment to scan for breaks or holes in the chocolate. The fondant centers must be completely coated, or the cherries will leak as the centers mature and liquefy.
• Use an enrobing fork. While an enrobing fork isn’t an absolute requirement for this recipe, ti will make dipping the centers easier and will allow you to create fun decorations on the tops of your chocolates. If you don’t have an enrobing fork you can use a regular fork to dip the centers instead.

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Chocolate Covered Cherries

Recipe by becky

• Total TimeAbout 1 1/2 hours (+ resting time)
• Yield25 chocolate covered cherries 1x

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A chocolate covered cherries recipe featuring maraschino cherries wrapped in fondant and enrobed in chocolate. The best homemade cherry cordials!

Ingredients

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25 maraschino cherries, drained, pitted, and with stems removed
135 grams confectioner’s sugar (4 3/4 ounces; 1 cup), plus more for dusting
35 grams light corn syrup or liquid glucose (1 1/4 ounces; about 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
20 grams unsalted butter, softened (about 3/4 ounce, or 4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or to taste
450 grams good-quality milk or dark chocolate couverture or chocolate candy melts, for enrobing (1 pound)

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Instructions

Line a large large tray with parchment, wax paper, or a silicone mat. Set aside.

Arrange maraschino cherries on a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside to dry while you prepare the filling.

In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. With gloved hands, knead until a soft, sticky dough forms, with no visible pieces of butter remaining.

With your hands, portion the fondant dough into 25 mounds.

Dust your hands with confectioner’s sugar. Working 1 at a time, flatten a fondant mound, place a cherry in the middle, then wrap the fondant around the cherry.

Roll into a smooth ball.

Arrange fondant balls on prepared tray. Freeze 20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt or temper the chocolate coating.

With an enrobing fork or kitchen fork, dip fondant-wrapped cherries in melted chocolate, completely covering the fondant.*

Decorate with an enrobing fork, pipe or drizzle with additional melted chocolate, or scatter with Valentine’s Day sprinkles.

Arrange chocolate covered cherries in a single layer in an airtight container, or place on a tray and cover tightly with foil or clingfilm/plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 1 week.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

 

Equipment

Callebaut 33.6%

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enrobing fork

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maraschino cherries

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Notes

*Make sure there are no breaks or holes in the chocolate, or the fondant will leak as it liquefies. If you notice any breaks or spots where the cherry liquid is seeping through, use a food safe paintbrush to “touch up” the breaks with a second coat of melted chocolate.

• Prep Time: 1 1/2 hours
• Category: Chocolate
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Sweets

Helpful Tools and Equipment

• Paintbrush – I recommend a food safe paintbrush for touch-ups. (See my notes above.) Make sure you’re using a paintbrush that you only use for pastry and candymaking; not one that has previously been used for craft projects.
• Enrobing Fork – An enrobing fork isn’t an absolute requirement for this recipe, but it will make dipping easier. You can purchase an inexpensive set of enrobing forks from Amazon, or from a cake decorating shop.

• Bench Scraper – I like to use my plastic bench scraper (the same one I’d use for breadmaking or cutting scones) to mix the fondant dough together, and scrape any sticky bits from the sides of the bowl.
• Rubber Gloves – Rubber gloves keep your hands mess-free while kneading the fondant.
• Bain-Marie or Double Boiler – I recommend using a bain-marie (hot water bath) or double boiler to melt the chocolate, rather than the microwave, as you’ll need to keep the chocolate warm for 30-60 minutes while you dip the cherry centers.
• Piping Bag – For a simple decorative element, scoop some of the extra melted chocolate into a disposable piping bag and pipe zigzags (or other designs) over the tops.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

It’s important to plan ahead if you want to gift these for Valentine’s Day. Chocolate covered cherries must rest at room temperature for a minimum of one week prior to serving. This resting time allows the fondant around the cherry to liquefy, creating the cherry cordial’s gooey center. Store homemade chocolate covered cherries in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Other Valentine’s Day Candy Recipes You Might Enjoy

Heart-Shaped Strawberry Marshmallows
Raspberry and Rose Hot Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
Rose Truffles
Sparkling Rosé Truffles
Rosewater Marshmallows
Cinnamon Red Hot Bark

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, be sure to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!