Chocolate Covered Cherries

Do you love Chocolate Covered Cherries as much as me? I grew up on the store bought treats, but now that I know how to make them at home I’ll never have them another way. These are the perfect Christmas treat recipe. Your holidays won’t be complete without these!

Chocolate covered cherries are a delicious, traditional Christmas treat! Plump, juicy cherries with a creamy liquid center, dipped in a creamy smooth chocolate. They make the perfect homemade treat to gift to friends during the holidays or enjoy yourself. I grew up on the store bought chocolate cherries, but now that I know how to make them at home I’ll never have them another way.

These are the perfect Christmas treat recipe. Your holidays won’t be complete without these sweet cherries! Learning how to make chocolate covered cherries wasn’t as difficult as I had made it out be in my head. They just took a bit of time and planning. The hardest thing is just waiting to let them sit up between the rolling in powdered sugar and dipping. I filled in that time by making a batch of my famous Chocolate Covered Potato Chips. They’re worth the wait!

Why You’ll Love Chocolate Covered Cherries

• This recipe for chocolate covered cherries is a fabulous make-ahead treat. They store well and can be made way ahead of any party or occasion you want to have them ready for.
• The flavor of homemade chocolate covered cherries is better than store-bought. Plus, it’s more budget-friendly to make your own!
• Chocolate cherries are a classic holiday treat, so you can create a tradition with your family and make these together every single year.

Ingredients for Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe

• Powdered sugar – This is my secret to the best homemade chocolate covered cherries. A powdered sugar mixture that you roll the cherries in before dunking them in chocolate!
• Butter – Use softened butter to make a powdered sugar coating for the cherries.
• Milk – I like to use whole milk, but you can use skim milk, 2% milk, or anything else that you have on hand.
• Almond extract – Adding a slightly nutty flavor with almond extract pairs so well the chocolate and cherry combo!
• Maraschino cherries with stems – I recommend buying multiple jars of cherries, so that you have more than enough with their stems on. There’s often a few stems that fall off in each jar of cherries.
• Chocolate almond bark – Almond bark is not the same thing as chocolate chips. Chocolate bark will harden better and become a crunchy outer coating for the cherries. If you use chocolate chips, it may not set as well as the bark.
• Shortening – A little bit of shortening helps thin out the bark and make it easier to dip the cherries in.

How to Make Chocolate Covered Cherries

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, milk, powdered sugar and almond extract until well incorporated.

Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and then flatten each one into a circle. Then wrap the cherries in the powdered sugar “dough”.

Place the cherries on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover the cherries and refrigerate overnight.

Melt the chocolate almond bark and shortening according to instructions on the package. Then dip the cherries into the chocolate and cool on waxed paper to harden.

Store in a covered container at room temperature. To get the gooey center we recommend them sitting for 2-4 weeks.

Can I freeze chocolate covered cherries?

It is not a good idea to freeze the chocolate covered cherries. There is so much moisture in the cherries that the will expend when frozen. The layers will then crack and, though they will still taste good, they won’t look pretty and presentable at all.

How to Store Chocolate Covered Cherries

After the almond bark sets on the cherries, place them into an airtight container and store at room temperature. To get the gooey center we recommend them sitting for 2-4 weeks.

Are chocolate covered cherries and cordial cherries the same thing?

These two yummy cherry treats are not the same thing. The main difference between the two is that cordial cherries contain alcohol. I like chocolate covered cherries because they are family friendly and anyone can eat them! But cordial cherries are so tasty too.

Go grab the ingredients to make this Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe and start creating your own memories! I assure you they are 100 times better than the store bought ones!

More Christmas Treats That You’ll Love

• These Oreo Truffles are just to die for. If you love oreos, then you have to try them out!
• I grew up making Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies and are another fun Christmas treat.
• These White Chocolate Molasses Cookies are so sweet and so yummy. A fun treat for any time of year, but especially Christmas!
• White Chocolate Dipped Gingersnaps are a great twist on a classic recipe that everyone loves.

Recipe Slightly Adapted from Taste of Home