Cherry Creme-Filled Chocolate Candy - SRC


















Welcome to this month's installment of the Secret Recipe Club! I have been assigned Angels Homestead, hosted by April, the SRC founder herself!

April is the proud mother of 5, born and raised in Southern Indiana.  She acquired all her kitchen skills from her mother, then from cooking for her own family later on. She has oodles of frugal and healthy recipes, many of them gluten-free, from which I had the pleasure of choosing.

So of course I went straight for the candy.  Lemme 'splain.

Every November and December I drop everything and make tons of candy for theHubby to give to many of his clients, and every year I add something new to the mix.  So I quickly scanned April's recipe index and eyed her delicious-looking Creme Filled Chocolates. I happen to like vanilla a lot, but noticed that the candies were displayed in pink foil cups.  And I happened to have a tiny bottle of  cherry liquor that had been begging me to use since the 2012 kosher food blogger's conference. Which gave me an idea:  replace the vanilla extract with cherry liquor. *Voila* Cherry-creme! 

Cherry creme (in center) with a few of its friends.














Despite the grown-up additive, one-quarter cup of 24% (by volume) liqueur divided into 72 candy cordials equals ... very little alcoholic consumption. But if you prefer, feel free to substitute an equal amount of maraschino cherry syrup.  Or go back to the original and use a teaspoon of vanilla.

TIP ALERT!  For easier handling of the melted chocolate, use a piping bag, or a small freezer bag (use scissors to cut off the corner, a tiny bit smaller than you think you need) to partially fill and top off the candies.














My worrying turned out to be totally unnecessary. These candies turned out to be the clients' favorite!  Thank you, April, for the idea!

*UPDATE* I made and photographed the candies almost 2 months ago, and finished up the post in December soon after Chanukah (we received our January SRC assignments very early this year ...  around Thanksgiving).  Just a couple days ago, I received an email from April to all the SRC members not to make major changes to another member's recipe, among other things.

ARGGGGGH! 

I hope April is not too upset with the flavor change.  Or that I didn't have the time to adjust the candy name on the photos.


Cherry Creme-Filled Chocolate Candy
Adapted from Angels Homestead 
Yield: approximately 72 candies

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 stick (4 Tbl.) unsalted butter, softened
1/8 tsp. table salt
1 lb. pkg. confectioner' (powdered) sugar, unsifted
1/4 cup cherry liquor (or syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries)
3-4 drops red food coloring (optional)
2 (24 oz.) bags semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
4 Tbl. vegetable shortening, divided

Using an electric mixer, beat sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt at medium speed until smooth.  Add sugar and beat on low until sugar is incorporated.  Add cherry liquor (or syrup); increase speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds.  Add 3 drops red food coloring, if desired and continue to beat for an additional 30 seconds, or until color is uniform.  Add additional drop only if necessary ... food coloring is highly concentrated and you only want a pink that is light, not shocking. Set aside.

Pour 1/2 bag of chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening in a heat-safe 1-quart bowl.  Microwave at full power for 1 minute.  Stir, then microwave at full power for 30 seconds; repeating until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Line a mini-muffin tin with paper or foil liners.














Spoon (or pipe) barely a tablespoon of melted chocolate mixture into each liner.













Spoon (or pipe) about 1/2 tsp. of creme filling into the center of the chocolate.  Gently press filling with back of spoon to flatten slightly, but not so much that filling spreads to the edges.













Spoon (or pipe) about a teaspoon of chocolate on top to completely cover filling.  As your batch chocolate mixture get low, repeat with remaining chocolate and shortening in same bowl, adding 1/2 bag and 1 tablespoon shortening at a time.

Pretty in Pink


















Refrigerate for an hour, or until tops are solid, then remove cordials and place in a tightly covered container, in layers divided by wax paper.  Refrigerate up to a month.  Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes (up to 8 hours) before serving.

Comments

  1. Not to worry Dena, you did an amazing job on the candies. It was just fine to change the vanilla to cherry. That would be considered a small change. The big changes we were talking about, would be taking this candy recipe, and changing it into cookie bars or something like that. I even recommended flavor variations in my original recipe, so you done a great job. Thanks for your sweet comments, and happy reveal day! :)

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  2. That looks like such a fun one to do - and to enjoy afterwards! :D Happy Reveal Day!!

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  3. You did such a great job! I am amazed by this recipe, it is not something I think I could tackle, me and melted chocolate and piping bags and anything with too much detail is a recipe for disaster... :-)

    But you were definitely up to the challenge!

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  4. These look absolutely amazing! I love chocolate in any flavor. Love that you did cherry flavored--will be perfect for Valentine's Day. Happy SRC Day!

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  5. Even though you made these months ago, with the pink color they are perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day!! Love!!

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  6. Great SRC pick:) I know what I'm making for my Valentine this year:) Happy Reveal Day~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines

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  7. looks fabulous!! great choice :) Happy Reveal Day...

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  8. Oh I love these! Pinning right now - it's perfect timing with Valentine's coming up in the next couple weeks. I'm going to make these for my friends. And I'm going to use the cherry liquor too since it's V-day. LOVE!!!!

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  9. Gorgeous job Dena! I just love that you switched up the flavor of this candy to accent a cherry flavor...I'm a BIG cherry fan! Fabulous SRC pick! :-)

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  10. Even though I don't like Cherry & Chocolate, these look very tasty!

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  11. Cordial cherries are one of my favorite treats for Valentines day. What a timely post!! Great pick, and great flavor combo!

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  12. these look so delicious! great choice for src :)

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  13. These would be perfect for Valentine's Day! Great pick!

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  14. Yum though I'm not a cherry fan...lol. Chocolate on the other hand is awesome! Visiting from group D :)

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  15. Oh I love chocolate. I need more people like you in my life so I can enjoy lots of homemade chocolates. These look fabulous!

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  16. These look great! What a wonderful idea. I have never tried this!

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  17. What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing it with my Sweet Treats for Sweethearts linky.

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