Chocolate Covered Cherries

Have I ever mentioned that The Husband is a candy fiend.  He loves his candy and one of his favorites is chocolate covered cherries.  This is a treat that he usually only gets once a year at Christmas.  I noted after we got home from our holiday travels and all of the unpacking of Christmas presents had taken place that there were no cherries amongst his loot.

Now I could have run down to the nearest Walgreens (there's one on practically every block in my town) and picked up a box for him.  Instead, I decided to try my hand at making them.  It turned out to be a fun cooking experiment though I will admit that I cheated and used chocolate confectioners coating.  This can be found at any cooking/candy making store and it is so much easier to deal with than tempering real chocolate.  Of course, the taste is not a pure chocolate flavor, but it's not too bad. 

From start to finish this project took me about an hour and made two dozens cordials.  The trickiest part of this whole business was to find a good hiding place in a cool location where The Husband wouldn't find them as they have to sit for 1-2 weeks to cure.  This time is needed so the fondant breaks down and turns into that delicious liquid that bursts out all over your face when you bite into one.  What a gloriously fun candy!  (P.S. After trying them, The Husband stated they were "the best thing I ever ate!"  I'm tickled pink.)

Chocolate Covered Cherries

24 marachino cherries with stems
1 1/2 Tbsp softened butter
1 1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 to 3/4 lb. chocolate confectioners coating

Drain cherries and set on a paper towel to dry.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter, corn syrup and confectioners sugar and knead to form a dough.  Chill to stiffen if necessary.

Wrap each cherry in about 1 tsp. of dough.  Chill until firm.

In a deep medium size microwavable bowl, slowly melt the chocolate, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.  Dip each cherry in by its stem and place on waxed paper.  Chill until completely set. 

Store in airtight container for 1-2 weeks in a cool place.