These chocolate covered cherries are made with maraschino cherries, a creamy center and plenty of dark chocolate. A homemade version of the classic treat that’s impossible to resist!
Chocolate covered cherries are one of my all time favorite candies, along with fudge and peppermint patties. These sweet treats make great holiday gifts, party favors, or a snack to satisfy any chocolate craving.
My favorite candy store is See’s candy. And every time I go in there, I have to get chocolate covered cherries, they’re my all time favorite candy. This homemade version is actually easier to make than it looks, and they are SO delicious. Everyone will be so impressed that you made them yourself!
How do you make chocolate covered cherries?
The first step to making chocolate covered cherries is to make the fondant that goes around the cherries. The fondant is a combination of powdered sugar, butter and maraschino cherry juice, which forms a dough that can be wrapped around individual maraschino cherries.
This dough can be a little sticky to work with. I recommend either coating your hands in cooking spray, or adding a little bit of powdered sugar to your work surface so that the dough doesn’t adhere to your hands or work space.
It’s important to make sure the maraschino cherries are completely dry before you wrap them in fondant, otherwise the fondant will not stick.
Tips for chocolate covered cherries
- After the cherries are wrapped in fondant, they need to be chilled so that they’re completely firm before they get dipped in chocolate. Otherwise, your cherries might start to melt and lose their round shape.
- I use Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers to dip my cherries in. They melt beautifully, are really easy to work with, and create a shiny thin shell on the cherries. You can also use chocolate chips or another brand of candy melts, but you’ll likely have to add some shortening to thin the chocolate before you start dipping.
- These cherries are best stored at room temperature after dipping so that the centers stay soft. The centers will never fully liquefy, but they’ll be rich, creamy and delicious regardless.
- While I use dark chocolate for these cherries, you can also use milk chocolate if you prefer.
- I personally like my chocolate covered cherries with the stems removed, but you can absolutely leave the stem on if you prefer, it does make for easier dipping!
I love to package these chocolate covered cherries in little gift boxes around the holidays to give to family, friends and teachers. No one can believe that we made them ourselves, and I have to say, I think the homemade version is SO much better than store bought.
More amazing candy recipes
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Ingredients
- 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 16 ounces dark candy melts or chocolate chips if using chocolate chips, you will also need to add 2 teaspoons of shortening to the recipe during the chocolate melting process
Instructions
- Drain the cherries, reserving 1/4 cup of the cherry juice.
- Place the cherries on paper towels and pat to dry.
- Place the powdered sugar, butter and 3 tablespoons of cherry juice in the bowl of a mixer; beat to combine until the mixture forms a dough.
- If the mixture seems too wet or sticky, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- If mixture is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of cherry juice at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Take two teaspoons of the cherry dough and flatten it into a disc shape.
- Place one cherry onto each disc and wrap the dough around the cherry to form a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, try coating your hands in cooking spray first.
- Place the balls onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze for 20 minutes.
- While the balls are chilling, melt the candy melts by placing them in a microwave safe bowl and cooking them in the microwave for 30 second increments until melted.
- Stir the candy melts until smooth.
- Place one ball on a fork and use the fork to coat the ball in chocolate. Gently tap the fork against the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.
- Place each dipped ball onto a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat the process with the remaining balls and candy melts.
- Place some of the melted candy in a resealable bag and snip off one corner of the bag to use as a piping bag.
- Use the piping bag to drizzle melted chocolate over the tops of the dipped cherries.
- Let the chocolate coating harden, then store the cherries at room temperature for up to one week.
Carmella Perkins says
I made these little yummies yesterday. And they turned out perfect and delicious .
thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Very simple to make!
Lisa B Januska says
I’m excited to find your recipe!!! One question though…the fella who made the reply about not understanding…have you since tried to make these like he suggested? And if so, how did they turn out? I really am going to try your version, but, would like to see if hanging on to a few of yours a little longer (not sure thats possible!!!) will produce the consistency??!! Cuz I do like a slurpy version of CCC; thats stems from getting a box every year at Christmas, as a young child!! Looking forward to some cute Valentines desserts and adding these to the mix, thanks!!!
Sara says
I have only made the recipe as it was written!
Marlene says
I adore cherries, especially when covered in chocolate! These are very different from what I make every year, but I’m making this recipe today for sure! I might try adding a bit of green gel food coloring to make it festive. The kind I make are super easy: stuff a chocolate chip in the middle of a candied cherry, then dip in chocolate. They are really good and the kids can help. And I bought a humongous bottle of maraschino cherries at Sams Club yesterday so now I will have plenty. But this recipe is what I was looking for and I didn’t want to buy a bottle of Invertase just to use a tiny bit. Thank you for this recipe!!
Beatrice says
These were so good! I’ve put them in little Asian take out containers as gifts
Sandra says
If you wanted to soak cherries in rum or vodka, would they get dry in order to be wrapped in fondant?
Sara says
You’d need to pat them dry with a paper towel!
Dina says
Could you not put the alcohol in the fondant instead of the cherry juice?
Sara says
I haven’t tried it this way so I can’t say for sure but I think it could work.
Debbie says
I just made them for Thanksgiving. Directions were excellent . Have not tasted but they sure look good.
Sara says
Happy Thanksgiving hope you enjoy!
Farrah says
Chocolate + fruit = one of my favorite combinations. :] These look so good!
Randy Randerson says
I don’t think you understand how this recipe is supposed to work. This is a classic cherry cordial recipe. You make them a month or so in advance and leave them in tupperware lined with parchment/wax paper. over the 4 to 6 weeks storage the fondant breaks down and transforms into a syrup. So you end up with a cherry floating inside a little bite of syrup just like store bought. they are safe to store that long because of the large amount of sugar and lack of water to inhibit any bacterial growth. For added fun you can buy the cherries with stems and keep the stems on as you wrap and dip the chocolates, makes it even more fun. honestly eating them early is kinda disappointing compared to the end product.
Sara says
My understanding was that you needed to use invertase to liquify the sugar center, and since this is a recipe for home cooks I didn’t include that since it’s not the easiest to find. I will try making them your way and let you know how they come out!
Elle says
The pictures of your chocolate covered desserts are beautiful. Unfortunately, I grew up not liking sweets. My kids would love for me to make these though. Yay!
blair villanueva says
Your new chocolate recipes screams Christmas and Valentine’s Day combined! I would be a happy lady receiving these as gifts.
Cindy Ingalls says
These look so delicious. I like the mix of chocolate, fondant and cherry. It provides a nice flavor profile.
Marcie says
Oh chocolate covered cherries are my favorite! I’m a bit nervous to make them myself, but it sounds tasty even if they don’t come out right 🙂
Renee | The Good Hearted Woman says
Oh my gosh, we love homemade chocolate covered cherries, but I haven’t made them in ages! I’ll be making these this holiday season for sure!
kumamonjeng says
These are great for Xmas season I am pretty sure. I can always pre-made them and then serve during the exact date. I love how pretty these little dessert look like and pink inside.
Erin Sluka says
What a fun dessert even my son can help make. We love cherries
Nicole says
I’m not always a huge fan of chocolate covered cherries. It had to be the right mix and proportions of chocolate to cherry for me! However, these look so good! I’ll definitely have to give them a try, thanks for sharing!
Celia Young says
I made these for our son who likes chocolate covered cherries. My Dad loved them too. My husband or I neither one have ever cared for chocolate covered cherries, but these are COMPLETELY different than the store candies. There is no way to describe how good they are. AMAZING!
Sara says
So glad to hear you enjoyed them, thanks for reporting back!