It’s officially under 5 days till Christmas!! Are you ready for the weekend? Our weekend is PACKED with Christmas activities, parties, and family get togethers. This year Jordan and I did a lot of homemade gifts for friends and family, and this week’s pairing was included! This week’s pairing of the week is…
Chocolate Covered Cherries and ‘Jolly Juice’ (Black Cherry Pinot Noir)
Don’t you love the wine label!? This year Jordan, his parents and I got together at Invintions Winery in Englewood, Colorado and made our own WINE! It was so fun! We went during the summer to do a tasting and pick which on we liked. Jordan’s parent’s chose the Black Cherry Pinot Noir (my mother-in-law came up with the ‘Jolly Juice’ name…I love it!) and we chose a Crimson Ternion (‘Buddy’s Special Sauce’). We got to go in and actually make the wine, then let it sit for three months before coming back to bottle, cork, seal and label our wine! Both labels were created by yours truly… we had so much fun creating those! This was such a fun family activity and they make excellent Christmas gifts! I just knew I had to do a pairing with these. 🙂
I decided to pair the Black Cherry Pinot Noir with a dessert because it’s definitely on the sweeter side! It almost tastes like juice…but its SO delicious! These chocolate covered cherries are so easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. I’m putting together little gift bags with these cherries and a bottle of the Jolly Juice as gifts! If you need any last minute recipe’s for a party or to enjoy on Christmas day… I highly suggest these!
From my kitchen to yours…enjoy!
Ingredients
- 60 Maraschino Cherries
- 4 1/2 Tbsp corn syrup
- 4 1/2 Tbsp Butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 pounds semi sweet chocolate coating
- 1/2 pound white chocolate coating *optional
- red and green food coloring *optional
- Christmas sprinkles *optional
Instructions
- Drain cherries and lay on paper towels to dry
- Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper
- In a medium bowl, combine butter and corn syrup until smooth. Stir in confectioners sugar and knead until a dough is formed (I had to use my hands)
- Chill to stiffen if needed
- Wrap each cherry in about 1 tsp on dough. Chill until firm
- Melt chocolate coating in a double boiler pan (if using a saucepan- melt over low heat, stir constantly) Dip each cherry in the chocolate using a spoon then place on waxed paper
- Optional- melt white chocolate and separate into 2 separate bowls- add green food coloring to one and red to the other. Dip a spoon in one color and drip colored chocolate over cherries. Apply sprinkles if desired.
- Chill until firm
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Best within 1-2 weeks