Chocolate Covered Cherries

I love chocolate covered cherries!  And they make a simple, cheap gift that most people can enjoy. Apparently they taste better after a couple weeks, so this year I actually made them ahead of time.  They are amazing fresh too, but the additional time allows the cherry juices to soak into the candy giving it that sweet, juicy center.  Either way, chocolate covered cherries have quickly become one of my favorite things to make around the holidays.

INGREDIENTS:

60 maraschino cherries (with or without stems, stems just make them easier to dip and handle)
3 TBSP butter substitute, softened
3 TBSP corn syrup
2 CUP confectioner sugar
1 bag chocolate chips

 

Drain the cherries (save the juice for mixed drinks or other desserts later!).  Let the cherries dry on paper towels or in a colander.

 

Combine the butter and corn syrup until smooth.

 

 

Add the confection sugar and form into dough. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chill if necessary to keep dough firm.

Coat each cherry with the sugar dough, using about a teaspoon of dough per cherry.  I usually flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it around the cherry, and then roll the dough around the palm of my hand until the cherry is evenly coated.  (It doesn’t have to be perfect :)

 

Let chill until firm.

 

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, or microwave.  Dip each cherry in the chocolate and coat.  Let dry on wax lined paper and store in an air tight container.