Description
Chocolate Cherry Mice are adorable, festive treats featuring maraschino cherries wrapped in a soft almond-flavored dough, dipped in milk chocolate, and decorated with Hershey’s Kisses, almond slices, and candy details to create cute mouse shapes. Perfect for holiday parties or fun gifts.
Ingredients
Scale
Mouse Dough
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
Filling and Decoration
- 20 ounces maraschino cherries with stems, well drained and dried
- 10 ounce milk chocolate melting wafers
- 30 milk chocolate almond Hershey’s Kisses unwrapped, for the heads
- Almond slices for the ears
- Black decorative icing for the eyes
- Red sugar pearls for the nose
Instructions
- Prepare Baking Sheets: Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside to place your treats on later.
- Make the Dough: In a large bowl, add the softened butter, corn syrup, and almond extract. Use a hand mixer on medium speed to blend until smooth and fully combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar into the bowl and knead together until a soft, pliable dough forms.
- Form Dough Discs: Pinch off approximately ½ tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball, then flatten the balls in the palms to form small discs.
- Wrap Cherries: Place a dried maraschino cherry with stem into the center of each disc and wrap the dough around it, keeping the stems exposed as the tails of the mice.
- Smooth Dough: Gently roll each wrapped cherry in your palms to smooth the dough, being careful not to break off the stems. Place them on the prepared baking sheet as you go.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the dough-wrapped cherries on the baking trays for 2 to 4 hours until firm.
- Melt Chocolate: Melt the milk chocolate wafers until smooth using either 30-second increments in the microwave with stirring, a double boiler, or a candy melting pot over low heat.
- Dip Wrapped Cherries: Holding each cherry by the stem, dip it into the melted chocolate to coat the dough-covered body completely. Lay them on their sides on the parchment-lined trays.
- Attach Heads and Ears: Immediately press a milk chocolate almond Hershey’s Kiss onto the opposite side of the stem to form the mouse’s head. Place two almond slices between the cherry body and the Kiss to form the ears.
- Decorate Faces: Use a toothpick to dab a tiny drop of melted chocolate onto the tip of the Kiss and attach a red sugar pearl for the nose. Then, use black decorative icing to dot two eyes onto each Kiss.
- Chill Finished Mice: Refrigerate the decorated chocolate cherry mice until ready to serve, allowing the chocolate to fully set.
Notes
- Use premium melting wafers like Ghirardelli for best texture and flavor rather than generic chocolate candy melts.
- The dough should be soft and flexible; add additional powdered sugar if sticky or chill briefly if needed to handle easier.
- When melting chocolate in microwave, use a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments, stirring thoroughly between each to avoid burning.
- A double boiler or candy melter is ideal to keep chocolate smooth and warm while dipping cherries.
- Any flavor of Hershey’s Kiss can be used but match the head chocolate to the body chocolate for cohesive flavor.
- Candy eyeballs, chocolate drops, or different icing styles can be substituted to decorate the eyes.
- Almond extract provides a nice complement to the almond Kisses, but vanilla or coconut extract are good alternatives.
- Store leftover mice covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks to maintain freshness.
- Leave a review and rating to share your feedback and support recipe development.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mouse
- Calories: 110 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
