The only thing shorter than summer is cherry season (and the jean shorts teenagers are wearing these days. Holy buckets, bring back the Bermuda shorts of yesteryear!) Anyway, if peaches are the sunset to summer, cherries are the sunrise. The kickoff, if you will, to months of having healthy, freshly-picked produce at our fingertips. Almond-Stuffed Chocolate Covered Cherries are the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of said delicious season. This easy, healthy (antioxidants!), 3-ingredient recipe is just begging to be made and devoured!
Fresh + Easy Dessert Recipe
Here’s what you need to know about Almond-Stuffed Chocolate Covered Cherries:
They’re easy. Pit the cherries, stuff the hole with an almond, then dunk into melted chocolate and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Dark chocolate + almonds = yum. Cherries + dark chocolate = amazing. Dark chocolate + cherries + almonds = insane! Antioxidants! Yep, all three ingredients in this recipe are packed with ’em! They’re perfect for entertaining. Serve as a happy hour snack on the patio, bring out after a BBQ, or pair with a glass of bubbles with your girlfriends. No heat required. Aside from the microwave (which I’m giving a pass to because it doesn’t heat up the house) this dessert recipe is no-bake making it ideal for summer.
Finally, they are totally addicting – don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Start by pitting fresh sweet cherries with stems through the SIDES versus the TOPS in order to leave the stems intact. Here’s the cherry pitter I use and love. Insert an almond where the pit used to be.
Place the almond-stuffed cherries on a kitchen towel or paper towels then gently pat them very dry. This is important as the melted chocolate won’t stick to cherries that are wet with water from washing, or cherry juice from pitting.
Next melt dark chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring between increments, until smooth. I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips since they’re dairy-free/vegan, plus the only ingredients are chocolate and sugar. Love that!!
Dunk each cherry into the melted chocolate. If the stem is strong, give the cherry a little spin to get rid of excess chocolate, otherwise you can scrape the bottom across the top of the bowl. Transferring the chocolate into a mug is also helpful to keep the level of chocolate high, and warm.
Place the almond-stuffed chocolate covered cherries onto a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet then refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 10 minutes.
When you’re ready to enjoy, peel the cherries off the sheet pan then devour! I hope you love this easy, summery treat, and are able to enjoy them before cherry season disappears for the year!
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