Recipe - Chocolate Balls With Cherry Cordial 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
1/3 cup Powdered sugar
1/3 cup 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)

There's yet another variation to chocolate covered
cherries. It's for the brave & daring at heart.

You have to start in the summertime, when cherries are
ripe. You take a pound of them, a pound of rock
candy, and a fifth of good brandy or bourbon. Mix
together, & let set in the back of the 'fridge for 34
months.

When you finally get around to making the chocolate
covered cherries, you use the preserved cherries for
the centers, & the liquor as the base for the cordial.
Courtesy of: Al Martin

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