Sunday, November 17, 2013

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Chocolate covered cherry filled with honey
I love cherries, and my sister loves chocolate and honey, so I thought we'd combine the three things.  One year, my grandpa got chocolate covered cherries in his stocking; they tasted really good!  I thought honey would taste better than the liquid inside, so I thought I'd make this myself.  

To make the recipe, you'll need chocolate chips, honey and Maraschino cherries.  We used semi-sweet chocolate chips, which my dad suggested would work a little better than milk chocolate.  

First, we got a saucepan and filled it with water, and placed another saucepan on top to make a double-boiler.  There should be a parent there to make sure you don't get hurt.  I lit the burner myself while my dad was watching.  
Pouring chocolate chips into the double boiler
I'm stirring the chocolate chips so they don't get burnt.
While the chocolate was melting, I prepared the cherries.

Pulling off the stems
Chopping the cherries in half
I'm stirring the chocolate while my dad helps by holding the pan with an oven mitt.
Stirring the melted chocolate
My dad is using a spatula to transfer the chocolate from the top of the double-boiler into the mold.  This star-shaped mold was designed for ice cubes like the flower-shaped mold I used for the cherry-grape ice cubes.

Adding melted chocolate to the mold
We don't want the chocolate overflowing, and we need room for the honey and cherry, so don't add too much!
Pressing the chocolate against the sides to make room for the honey and cherries.
Ready for the honey!
Pouring the honey into the mold.
Putting the cherries in the chocolate and honey
Put the mold in the freezer for at least 2 hours, and then, pop them out onto a plate.  This reminds me of the star above the manger, and they could be used as Christmas presents, as long as they're kept cold enough.
I can't wait to taste one of my chocolates!
The shape turned out better than I expected.