I love the old-fashioned charm of a box of cherry cordials. There's a bit of nostalgia involved whenever I eat them. I think that maybe it's because no one ever really just buys cherry cordials for themselves. (They're usually given to you by somebody, right?) And when you eat a cherry cordial, you're reminded of that person. (For me, it was the grandfather of a family friend who was a big fan of cherry cordials and seemingly always had them on him when we paid him a visit.) This recipe brings about all of the magic of your standard cherry cordial, but this time 100% cruelty-free. Make it for your special Valentine, and they'll be thinking about you every time they eat one. ----------------------------------------- Vegan Cherry Cordials 1 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries 2 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance.) 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli semi-sweet chips.) 1 - 2 tablespoons cherry juice 1 teaspoon corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1. In advance, drain the maraschino cherries (reserving some of the cherry juice) and dry the cherries as much as possible before beginning this recipe. (I recommend freezing them before covering in the powdered sugar mixture) 2. Beat together the butter, one cup of the sugar, almond extract, corn syrup and cherry juice until well incorporated and then add in the leftover 1/2 cup of sugar and knead until it becomes soft dough. 3. Refrigerate the dough until ready to use. 4. Once your cherries and dough are ready wrap each cherry with the dough and roll it out in your hand to smooth it out into a ball. If your dough isn’t firm enough, roll the cherries in it and then freeze it for an hour or two. Once you’re done freezing it, roll the dough covered cherries in your hand to smooth into out into a nice smooth ball. Freeze the cherries until nice and firm. 5. Melted the chocolate over a double boiler and let it cool a bit before covered the cherries. Make sure you have a station set up to cover the cherries because they tend to start melting very quickly so you have to cover them in chocolate as quickly as possible. (I did two or three at a time and then put the cherries back in the freezer to chill more and repeated this process until all the cherries are covered.) I used a fork to roll them in the chocolate and then let the excess drain before transferring to my container for the cherries. 6. After you’re done covering all of the cherries, freeze them until they’re set and then transfer to the refrigerator until ready to eat!
