Our Happily Ever After

Chocolate cherries.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions.
What started as gifts for loved ones from my mom when she was newly wed and too poor to buy anything else quickly turned into a cherished family tradition.
My grandma loved them so much that she has made them nearly every year since.
Always one to include us in any project, and especially in the kitchen, (even when she had casts on both arms!) she taught my sister and I how to make them when we were very young and I can't remember ever having a Christmas without chocolate covered cherries...probably because I never have!

And so the tradition continues with the next generation;

Maraschino cherries.
I like to get these at Costco.
They offer the perfect size jars.
Two jars, about 80 cherries each.
Yes. We use both jars.
I've found this to be the perfect amount to bring to parties, give as gifts to neighbors and family and have just enough left over to enjoy throughout the holiday season.
Although, I'm waiting for Crystal to insist that 300 is the bare minimum.
True story.

Fondant.

AKA the yummy gooey filling.

One batch of fondant very nearly covers all 160 cherries.

Depending on how many cherries you devour before you cover them.(;

(we do love our cherries!)

If you are a beginner, you will not be able to cover that many.

I've discovered that beginners always use about twice the amount of fondant as the seasoned pros. (; So, plan on only using one jar of cherries per batch of fondant if you consider yourself a beginner, and you should have more than enough.

Gather your crew.

You'll want lots of helpers.
This can get tedious.

First, take a lump of (chilled!) fondant and flatten it.
Like so.

If it's too soft add some powdered sugar.

Now, taste a cherry.

Or two.

And be forewarned:

When, after 15(ish) cherries, you pull out the big guns and adamantly refuse her another,

things can turn ugly.

Now place your cherry in the center and wrap the fondant around it, like a blanket.

I like to leave the stems on.

It saves a step and makes them so much easier to dip.

(Grandma insists it can't be done.)

Plus then people know what there getting themselves into...before they take a bite.

Because after all, not everyone enjoys chocolate covered cherries.

Now roll...

I just kinda ignore the stem and it does just fine.

After you have the cherry completely covered, pinch off any excess fondant.

You'll get the hang of it.

Voila!

Okay, so this stem got a little crunched.

And it was probably the only one!

Pretty soon you'll have trays and trays of this:

Now.

I didn't photograph the dipping process.

Vat of melting chocolate, 8 helping hands, 150 cherries, + camera?

I wasn't feeling up to it at this point.

But just melt semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, whichever you prefer.

(I actually do half and half.) with a little bit of wax.
I know! I can't believe I actually do that, but why not?
It's not like these are good for you in any way, shape or form...

The wax helps the chocolate to set up harder than it otherwise would.

I used about 4 bags of chocolate chips, but not in their entirety...as you have to melt more than you actually use to be able to dip properly. (The extra got poored over pretzels for snack time!)

Take each cherry by the stem and dip, covering about half way up the stem.

Take great care to spin off all the excess chocolate or they will puddle.

Place them on wax paper and refrigerate to cool. Store in fridge or freezer until a few days before you need to eat them...then keep them at room temp so that the fondant gets nice and gooey.

I'll post a pic of the finished cherries with the recipe tomorrow...