Recipe - Chocolate Balls With Cherry Centers

50 Whole candied cherries
Three fourths cup Cherry brandy (more may be
necessary)
One half pound Sweet milk chocolate, broken
into pieces
One fourth pound Unsweetened baking
chocolate, broken into
pieces
1 1/3 cup Powdered sugar
7/8 cup Butter, softened
3 tablespoon Unsweetened cocoa
Powdered sugar
Unsweetened cocoa

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 T. 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 1/3 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 frig.

These balls are dense and heavy with a rich chocolate
flavor. For a lighter flavor, I suggest you omit the
unsweetened baking chocolate and add One fourth lb. more milk
chocolate.

Licking your fingers is not permitted during the
assembly, but manditory after you are done. (grin)

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini