Be Cordial.

Man, those cordial cherries are so darn good, aren't they?  My dad loves them and, through him, I learned to appreciate them myself.

I recently learned that the liquid middle doesn't start out that way at all!  It starts out solid and, over time, the solid breaks down and becomes the liquid center.  The longer it sits, the more clear the liquid.  Who knew?

Naturally, I decided to start looking for recipes that spoke to me.  As usual, they all speak to me!  In true form, I took my favorite components from a few recipes an did my own thing.

I guess the problem is I don't know how well they liquefy because I just did them.  I hope, in a couple of weeks, I have chocolate cherries with gooey middles.  If not, I'm not too worried about it because these just happen to be delicious just the way they are.

2 lbs Powdered Sugar (plus extra for dusting)

1 stick Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

3 tbls. Light Corn Syrup

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

¼ tsp. Almond Extract

¼ tsp. Vanilla Extract

¼ tsp. Salt

60 - 75 Maraschino Cherries w/ Stems, gently drained

2 lbs. Dark or Milk Chocolate Candy Melts (or Tempered Chocolate)

Cream butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, extracts and salt until smooth.  With mixer off, add half of powdered sugar (1 lb), mix on low until smooth.  Add remaining powdered sugar until a sticky dough forms. 

Wrap dough with plastic wrap and place in fridge for  at least 1 hour. 

Get all your ducks in a row when you're ready to wrap cherries in this stuff, which tastes delicious, by the way.  I wanted there to be some juice to my cherries, so I didn't drain them for any amount of time.  I just threw them onto a paper towel lined tray to get any excess.

Foil lined tray, cherries, chilled dough, 1-oz scoop & extra powdered sugar

Having your hands dusted with powdered sugar and a little on the surface makes this so easy.  Take about 1-oz of the dough and flatten it out. I found that a slight oval worked best.

Place a cherry in the upper half of the oval and wrap the bottom up, pinching to seal.  Once you've sealed the cherry, just squish or roll it into a ball.  

Nestled all snug in its bed.

Like a sweet dumpling!

After you're finished, toss the tray into the fridge for an hour or so.  You could probably even do this a day ahead if you wanted to split up the job, but you will want to cover them.  The amount of cherries that you end up with depends on the size of your cherries and how much dough you use.  You'll end up with 60 - 75 cherries.




When you're ready to dip, the stems will come in very handy!  Melt your favorite candy coating or temper some chocolate.

I use Merckens because it tastes delicious and is easy to use.

Melt your chocolate as you normally would or according to package directions.  I happen to use one of these and I love it.  I don't work with chocolate a lot, but I also use it as a fondue pot.

Try to keep your chocolate in a narrow and deep container rather than a wide and shallow one.  This will allow for easy dipping.  Just dunk it right in!  The cherries are cool, so allow the excess chocolate to run off.  It will slow naturally and then place it on a new tray.  Don't scrape the bottom.  There can't be holes or your juice will run out!

Chill them for a while and then leave them covered in a cool, dry place.  The magic liquid centers should appear in a week or so.  If not, just eat them anyway!