National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day

When I was younger, we always bought my mother some chocolate covered cherries for every occasion—her birthday, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, you name it. It was because the entire family was under the impression that she loved chocolate covered cherries. It turns out that this story was once true, when she was a teenager—but she had since gotten so burned out on the decadent treat that she started hating them. It turns out that all of those boxes of chocolate and cherry goodness had actually ended up either re-gifted or thrown away!

If you’re a fan of chocolate covered cherries—or you’d like to whip up a batch to give as a gift to a loved one for Valentine’s Day—they’re not so hard to make. With less than ten ingredients and a double boiler, you can make a confection that is sure to please your sweetheart. (Of course, you may want to be sure that he or she likes chocolate covered cherries before you go through the trouble!)

First, gather your ingredients. You will need:

Corn syrup—6 Tbsp

Vanilla extract—1 tsp

Confectioner’s sugar—3 lbs

Butter—8 Tbsp

Sweetened condensed milk—1, 14-ounce can

Maraschino cherries—3, 10-ounce jars

Shortening—1/2 Tbsp

Semisweet chocolate chips—2 cups

Drain the cherries from their jars and melt the butter. Then, get a big mixing bowl and pour in the corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Kneed this mixture into a dough.

Next, take a small portion of the dough and wrap it around each cherry, molding a small ball around every cherry. After each cherry is covered, place it on a cookie sheet; once the sheet is covered, place it in the freezer to chill and firm.

Take your chocolate chips and shortening and melt them together in the double boiler. Remove the covered cherries from the freezer and dip each ball into the chocolate, then place on parchment paper to cool before boxing or serving. As the balls cool and sit, they will form the juicy center that chocolate covered cherries are famous for having.

For gift-giving, use an old Valentine’s box or create your own from a Christmas card box, facial tissue box, or other container. Decorate the box however you wish, with stickers, paint, lace or other materials. Use a pretty pink, red, or white tissue paper to line the box with and wrap gently over the chocolate covered cherries before presenting the package.