Chocolate Balls with Cherry Cordial Centers
Submitted by heresgreg
Cherry cordial chocolate balls made with kirsch-soaked candied cherries wrapped in a buttery milk and dark chocolate shell, rolled in cocoa and powdered sugar. A luxurious homemade candy.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
10 minREADY
2 hrsCherry cordials from a box have nothing on these handmade beauties. Each ball wraps a whole candied cherry (soaked overnight in kirsch) inside a rich shell of melted milk chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and powdered sugar.
The cherry brandy does double duty: it infuses the cherries and gets stirred into the chocolate mixture, so every layer carries that warm, boozy cherry flavor.
Finished with a roll in cocoa and powdered sugar, they look like they belong in a velvet-lined candy box. Store them in the fridge and pull them out when you want to impress.
Pro Tips
- The longer the cherries soak in kirsch, the more intense the cordial flavor; overnight is the minimum, a few days is even better
- Work in small batches and keep the chocolate mixture in the freezer between rounds; warm hands soften it quickly
- Dust your palms generously with the cocoa-sugar mixture before rolling each ball
- These keep well refrigerated for up to two weeks, so they’re a great make-ahead holiday treat
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the cherries in the brandy overnight or longer. Drain the cherries, reserve the brandy.
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer. In a double boiler, melt the chocolates. Spoon the melted chocolate, spoon by spoon, into the butter and sugar mixture and mix thoroughly by hand.
Add reserved brandy to sugar and chocolate mixture and stir by hand until all is absorbed. Add 3 tablespoon cocoa and mix by hand.
Put mixture in the freezer and thoroughly chill. Prepare a surface to assemble the balls. Mix equal amounts of cocoa and powdered sugar, about ⅓ cup each. On a piece of waxed paper, heavily dust with the cocoa powdered sugar mixture. Remove the chocolate from the freezer when it is chilled and stiff. For each cherry, spoon out a heaping teaspoon of the chocolate and drop on dusted paper. Dip your fingers into the cocoa/sugar mixture and flatten chocolate to a small pancake. Place a cherry in the center and fold chocolate around it. Gently roll the ball between your palms to form and finish by rolling the ball in the cocoa/sugar mixture. Repeat for each cherry. If the chocolate mixture softens, return to the freezer to firm up.
Place the completed balls in a container with a lid and store in the fridge.
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