CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRIES

Ingredients

• 30 maraschino cherries with stems, blotted dry, plus 2
• tablespoons reserved cherry juice
• 0.25 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• Good pinch of salt
• 1 pound white, milk, or dark melting chocolate

1. Freeze the cherries on a waxed paper–lined rimmed baking sheet for 1 hour.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and, while running, slowly add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and the salt. Add 1 tablespoon of cherry juice and beat on low speed while adding the last cup of confectioners’ sugar. Add 1 more tablespoon of cherry juice. The mixture should be stiff. Put the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Unwrap the dough. Using a melon baller or a teaspoon, measure out 30 cherry-sized dough balls.
4. Remove the cherries from the freezer. Press each dough ball into a flat disk big enough to cover each cherry, and wrap the cherries. Freeze for 1 hour.
5. In a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water or in a double boiler, stir the chocolate as it melts and becomes smooth. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Remove the pan from the heat. While holding the stem and using a fork to balance the cherry, carefully dip each cherry into the chocolate. Place each chocolate-covered cherry onto a sheet of wax paper to set. (If desired, give them a second dip in the chocolate.)
6. Refrigerate the cherries until the chocolate is firm, 1 hour. The cherries will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.