Narcissistic Tendencies
There’s only one reason in the world to make something from scratch that you can buy by the dozen for 99¢ at any local drugstore: just to say you can.
Take chocolate covered cherries, for instance.
I got a wild hair up my bum before Christmas that I wanted to give them a try. I like them, my mother in law likes them, and I thought they’d be a nice addition to my usual Christmas cookies as well as a showpiece at our ornament exchange party.
And I’m not going to lie: I wanted to dazzle people with my culinary skills when I told them I made them myself. What can I say? I’m desperate for attention.
It all started when I got a weekly newsletter from allrecipes featuring a chocolate covered cherries recipe I liked. So I went out and got all the ingredients to make a veritable assload of cherries, including a 5,000-or-so-count jar of maraschino cherries I picked up at Sam’s.
By the time I actually made the cherries, I had found a different recipe that didn’t involve as many ingredients or steps but got great reviews. Time was running out, as you’re supposed to let them sit for two weeks to gel and our party was about a week and a half away.
So I took the ‘easy’ way out. And let me tell you, I’ve never had a new recipe go so smoothly from start to finish.
Little did I know before my foray into the dark and luscious world of chocolate covered cherries that the gel-like substance you experience when biting into one is the result of a fondant that the cherries are wrapped in.
The batter came together like a dream and the cherries were wrapped effortlessly. Then it was time to dip the cherries in chocolate. Thanks to an online tip I read suggesting you add a little shaved paraffin to the chocolate chips, I had a bowl full of smooth, creamy chocolate. The cherries were dipped flawlessly. I could hardly believe my eyes – or my luck.
The day of our party, I bit into one. Holy cow! They even tasted good! The only thing that I hope to fix for my next batch (since I never quite got around to making all the edible gifts I planned for the holidays) is leaking gel.
A lot escaped my first batch, which I found surprising since while making them, they the came right off the waxed paper with no trouble. Apparently, I either didn’t wrap or dip as thoroughly as I thought. But I’ll have plenty of opportunities as I’ve got about 4,942 cherries left.
Shirley Temple, anyone?
Take chocolate covered cherries, for instance.
I got a wild hair up my bum before Christmas that I wanted to give them a try. I like them, my mother in law likes them, and I thought they’d be a nice addition to my usual Christmas cookies as well as a showpiece at our ornament exchange party.
And I’m not going to lie: I wanted to dazzle people with my culinary skills when I told them I made them myself. What can I say? I’m desperate for attention.
It all started when I got a weekly newsletter from allrecipes featuring a chocolate covered cherries recipe I liked. So I went out and got all the ingredients to make a veritable assload of cherries, including a 5,000-or-so-count jar of maraschino cherries I picked up at Sam’s.By the time I actually made the cherries, I had found a different recipe that didn’t involve as many ingredients or steps but got great reviews. Time was running out, as you’re supposed to let them sit for two weeks to gel and our party was about a week and a half away.
So I took the ‘easy’ way out. And let me tell you, I’ve never had a new recipe go so smoothly from start to finish.
Little did I know before my foray into the dark and luscious world of chocolate covered cherries that the gel-like substance you experience when biting into one is the result of a fondant that the cherries are wrapped in.
The batter came together like a dream and the cherries were wrapped effortlessly. Then it was time to dip the cherries in chocolate. Thanks to an online tip I read suggesting you add a little shaved paraffin to the chocolate chips, I had a bowl full of smooth, creamy chocolate. The cherries were dipped flawlessly. I could hardly believe my eyes – or my luck.
The day of our party, I bit into one. Holy cow! They even tasted good! The only thing that I hope to fix for my next batch (since I never quite got around to making all the edible gifts I planned for the holidays) is leaking gel.
A lot escaped my first batch, which I found surprising since while making them, they the came right off the waxed paper with no trouble. Apparently, I either didn’t wrap or dip as thoroughly as I thought. But I’ll have plenty of opportunities as I’ve got about 4,942 cherries left.
Shirley Temple, anyone?
posted by meauxjeaux @ 12:12 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:44 AM,
divaqueen said…
I unfortunately hate any kind of cherry, yes even chocolate dipped, so I can't speak from my personal tasting experience. They did look incredible & I heard they tasted as good as they looked! I must say I was VERY impressed! Go girl!
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