½   pound coating chocolate (for molds e.g. Mercken's)
½   pound real chocolate (chocolate chips or Callebaut work fine)
¼  cup butter (not margarine)
¾  cup whipping cream
1 to 2 drops or tsp. desired flavors (depending on which kind you use)
 Alcohol may be used providing only adults are going to eat these.

Place whipping cream in medium bowl into microwave. Scald (depending on your microwave, it should take approx. 2 minutes). Just make sure it boils.
 
Mix in butter until dissolved. Mix in real chocolate until melted. Whip with electric mixer for about 1 minute until mixture is thick.

Add flavor. If alcohol is used, you will need to beat with the mixer a while longer. It will separate, but keep beating. It becomes creamy after a couple of minutes.

Set this mixture in refrigerator while you prepare your molds. Again to make things easier, pour some into a squeeze bottle. Place in refrigerator. Coat your molds with the coating chocolate  making sure you can see no light through them.

Take a small amount of filling and press it in the cavities of the mold or if you use a squeeze bottle squeeze out enough to fill the mold ¾ full.

Refrigerate for a couple of minutes. Then top with your coating chocolate. (This too can be put into a squeeze bottle for easier handling.) Or you may leave the entire mixture in the refrigerator for several hours until it gets hard.

Take a small amount, roll it into a ball and roll it in desiccated coconut, cocoa, nuts or whatever coating you prefer. Place them in candy cups or trays for boxing. These make great gifts or display for parties.

CHOCOLATE CHERRIES

To make chocolate cherries, you will need candy molds from our Fancy Pieces Molds Page (or see below for some chocolate cherry candy molds), fondant mix (found on our Food and Candy Ingredients page) and a jar of maraschino cherries.

Coat your chocolate cherry candy molds with chocolate by taking a teaspoon or a squeeze bottle filled with melted chocolate and fill in the candy mold cavity about 1/3 of the way.  With a paintbrush, push the chocolate up the sides of the mold. The objective is to make sure the whole inside of the cavity is covered with chocolate. 

Hold the candy mold up to the light. If you can see light through the chocolate, then you do not have enough coverage. Continue to coat the candy molds until you get the right coverage.  Refrigerate between coats. If you do not cover the inside of the candy mold properly, the liquid will leak out (big mess!).   Place the candy molds in the refrigerator to set.

Meanwhile place your maraschino cherries onto a paper towel to drain. If your candy mold cavities are small, you will have to cut your cherries in half.  Mix some of the cherry juice with fondant mix until you have a thick paste. Start by pouring the fondant mix in a bowl first and slowly add the cherry juice stirring until it is thick. The thicker the better to prevent leakage, but it should be liquid enough to put in a squeeze bottle. 

Place a cherry (half) into each cavity. Spoon or squeeze the fondant mixture over the cherry until the cavity is about ¾ full. Place in refrigerator for about 5 minutes. Then spoon or squeeze your melted chocolate to top off the candy mold. Make sure all the edges are sealed. Tap gently the candy mold on a hard surface to flatten the back of the candies. Place the candies back into refrigerator for another 5 minutes. If small spots appear to be leaking, touch these up with a dot of chocolate to seal them.