Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe

Last Updated on February 28, 2026 by becky

A chocolate covered cherries recipe featuring bright red maraschino cherries wrapped in sweet fondant and enrobed in milk or dark chocolate. These homemade cherry cordials look and taste just like the store-bought kind sold in drugstores for Valentine’s Day!

Why Make This Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe?

In my opinion, seasonal candy peaks right around 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 on Valentine’s candy make it a tough “candy holiday” to beat. It’s also one of my favorite holidays for developing themed recipes: red velvet whoopie pies, white chocolate Valentine’s Day bark, heart-shaped marshmallows, pink rose truffles…I love it all.

Wrapped in fondant and enrobed in a layer of chocolate, chocolate covered cherries (also known as cherry cordials) are the quintessential Valentine’s Day treat. Featuring a bright maraschino cherry surrounded by gooey, liquid-y fondant and a crisp chocolate shell, I always look forward to seeing boxes of these seasonal sweets appear in the seasonal candy aisle at drugstores and supermarkets a few weeks before V-Day.

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 the fondant 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 one week before taking a bite!

Ingredients for Making Chocolate Covered Cherries

To make homemade chocolate cherries, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Maraschino Cherries – This recipe makes approximately 25 chocolate covered cherries, and you’ll need 1 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 are best; otherwise, you’ll need to remove the pits and stems before wrapping the cherries in fondant. Do not use fresh cherries.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar (also called icing sugar or powdered sugar) makes the fondant base.
• Light Corn Syrup – You’ll need an invert sugar such as light corn syrup (I prefer the Golden Barrel brand), light Karo syrup, or liquid glucose for the fondant.

• Unsalted Butter – Softening the butter makes it easier to work it into the fondant dough.
• 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. If you’d prefer not to temper your chocolate, you can also use chocolate coating wafers or candy melts. See my notes 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. There are numerous methods for tempering chocolate, including seeding, tabling, and direct tempering. 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.

What is the Best Chocolate for this Chocolate Covered Cherry Recipe?

I enrobed my cocolate covered 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 it will be difficult to spot any holes or breaks in the chocolate.

If you aren’t familiar with tempering, you can by a range of other names such as melting chocolate, melting wafers, confectionery coating, candy wafers, or dipping chocolate) is pre-tempered and will allow you to enrobe your cherries without tempering.

This recipe does not work well with chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that make them better suited for chocolate chip cookies or as an ice cream mix-in than for coating and enrobing bon bons.

“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.

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.
• 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 top of each cherry.

• Rubber Gloves – Rubber gloves keep your hands mess-free while kneading the sticky fondant.

Tips and Tricks for Making Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

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 and creating the signature texture of a chocolate covered cherry.

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.

Flavor the fondant. Use more vanilla extract, more vanilla bean paste, or a touch of cherry extract. For a stronger cherry taste, mix in 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of the maraschino cherry juice.

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.

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!

 

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