Food Friday: Quick and Easy Chocolate Covered Cherries

When we were on a ministering visit early this week our sister shared that she and her family always make chocolate covered cherries for Valentine's Day.  Dear One loves chocolate covered cherries so I asked for the recipe.  Which she texted right away.  (It turns out that our household phone on Tools is Dear One's number so he gets a lot of texts intended for me. Some surprises turn out not to be surprises after all...like chocolate covered cherries for Valentine's Day! Well, that phone issue had been the case but we have now changed the number to mine.  Now all the brothers who want Dear One will get me instead...!  Oh well.)

Anyway, I read the recipe but for some reason could not print it out right then...and to make a long story shorter, I made the recipe as best I remembered then went online to see if I had gotten it right.  It was correctly done.  Online the recipe says to leave it in the refrigerator for 5 days so the inside of the chocolate will liquify around the cherry.  As I am writing this, we are still waiting for those five days to expire to try the cherries.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Start by putting a sieve over a bowl and pour the cherries into the sieve to drain.  Put the drained juice back into the jar and refrigerate to use for other things...maybe add to a smoothie or many other things to give a nice flavor.

In a medium bowl sift 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar.  Into the sugar add 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.  Start mixing but soon you will need to add a little milk. I think I ended up using 2 Tablespoons milk.  The texture will remind you of modeling clay.

This is after being dipped the first time.  You will notice some of them look dry. This happens because of the chilled cherry balls.  The wet-looking ones have just been dropped and have not had time to dry.

Pinch off a bit of "dough" and flatten it in your palm then add one drained cherry.  Pull the dough up over the cherry to enrobe it completely.  Finish with all the dough then put the cherries into the refrigerator AT LEAST four hours or preferably overnight.

In the morning melt 2 cups dark chocolate chips and 1-2 Tablespoons shortening (not butter, not oil)  in a glass bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts until melted, stirring after every 30 seconds.  Drop the enrobed cherries into the chocolate  and completely cover then put on a parchment-lined pan.  Put in the refrigerator for several hours, then cover and let sit for 5 days.

NOTE:  These did not really liquify in the middle.  Perhaps a little bit near the cherry but not what I expected.  They really DO taste good.