Chocolate Covered Cherries

These will take you an afternoon from start to finish. However the results are so worth the effort and will make someone on your gift list very happy.

Cook's Notes- I used morello cherries which happen to be slighly sour. Even though maraschino cherries are traditionally used I think they are a little too sweet. But feel free to use which ever you prefer. In the picture the center of the cherry is still solid instead of a liquid. This is because they hadn't had the time to sit for 3 days before I took the picture.

1 jar of maraschino or morello cherries, drained and dried
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 pkgs good quality chocolate chips(I use 1 each of milk and semi-sweet)

Place the powdered sugar, butter, condensed milk and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and no longer sticky(this is a fondant). Scoop into a bowl and place it in the frig for about an hour.

Spread the cherries onto a cookie sheet in a single layer and place them in the freezer for an hour or more. Remove the cherries and the fondant from the frig and freezer. Place a clean cookie sheet into the freezer. Using a melon baller for a scoop, scoop about 2 tsp of fondant and place it in your hand. Hollow out the center of the fondant with your finger and place a frozen cherry into it. Wrap the fondant around the cherry and place it immediately back into the freezer. If the fondant won't go all the way around the cherry, not to worry. You can reshape the fondant just before dipping it into the chocolate. Freeze the fondant covered cherries for about an hour or over night. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or on the stove top. Place hot tap water into a crock pot and turn it on high. Place a clean heat safe bowl into the water. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl. The hot water will keep the chocolate warm and melted as long as you need it. Do not place the lid on the crock pot as steam collected on the lid will drip into the chocolate causing it to seize up. Poke a toothpick into a cherry and dip it into the chocolate. Place the dipped cherries onto a clean cookie sheet that has been lined with waxed paper. Allow them to set. After each one has set. Pick them up to check the bottom to ensure that no fondant is peeking through. If it is, redip the bottom of the cherry into the remaining chocolate and let the bottom harden. This will ensure that the liquid center will not leak out of the cherry later on. Let the cherries sit at room temperature for about 3 days. The fondant center will become a liquid during that time.