Jan 04, 2004
This is a great recipe, but I combined it with another one that I found so I'll let you know my helpful tips. I used the maraschino cherries that have the stems still on them, it made it so easy to dip them in chocolate. Plus people will know that they are homemade. You use less chocolate this way as well. I still used slightly more chocolate than the recipe called for, but not much more as you can shake them off a little bit by holding onto the stem and spinning them. I also soaked my cherries in Taylor's Port for a couple of days before hand. This makes them a delicacy. The alchohol combines with the fondant that you wrap around the cherries and makes a great cordial. It also cuts down on the extreme sweetness of the fondant. This recipe would not have been as good without it. I wrapped my cherries in the fondant and then froze them on a cookie sheet for a couple of days before dipping them, that way they were good and hard. I had no trouble with them melting. To wrap the fondant around the cherries with out it sticking to your fingers, it is best to spray your hands with nonstick spray several times throughout the process. It is also good to blot the excess moisture off the cherries with a paper towel after draining them from the Port. I tried dusting my hands with powdered sugar too, and that didn't work as well as the spray. After these were cooled, I arranged them in little foil cups like miniature cupcake cups and placed them in Candy boxes that you can
—SMCATEE