Christmas Cherry Bombs (Spiked Cherries)
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A fun alternative to JELLO shots with less booze but just as fun to serve and enjoy, these Spiked Christmas Cherries give you an easy party dessert and a hit of a cocktail in one bite.
Spiked Christmas Cherry Bombs Recipe
While I love developing special cocktails for entertaining, sometimes you just want to have some friends over and give them a special treat, but you know you’re going to be pressed for time.
Those occasions are a perfect opportunity to prep these spiked Christmas cherries.
They can be enjoyed on their own, as a boozy treat, or use to add a festive garnish to an otherwise plain cocktail… or even use them to give a boozy flourish to a festive dessert!
I’ve made these spiked cherries with a variety of different alcohols over the years – vodka, rum, whiskey or champagne. All of them work well, but the biggest factor is how long you soak the cherries for before coating them in chocolate and serving.
The longer you soak the cherries, the stronger (boozier) they will be.
Also, if you plan to serve a cocktail that uses grenadine, I highly recommend using the leftover alcohol-infused cherry juice in it’s place as it will give you that hit of grenadine and a bit of extra booziness to the final cocktail.
NOTE: if the kids are going to be curious about these candy-coated cherries, make them their own version without the booze and use a different color of sprinkles or chocolate to prevent getting the two mixed up.
Spiked Christmas Cherry Bomb FAQs
How long can I soak the cherries? I recommend a minimum of 6 hours if you are pressed for time, but you can soak these cherries for up to a month to soak up as much alcohol as possible. (Alcohol does work as a preservative so you can soak for even longer as long as they are in a cool, dark space.)
Can I make these spiked cherries in advance? Noting the above soaking time in the alcohol, once you coat the cherries in chocolate or candy melts, you will want to serve them within 2 days to prevent the chocolate from breaking down from the moisture in the cherries. (Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.)
HELP! Why isn’t the chocolate coating sticking to the cherries? The cherries must be dry before dipping in chocolate. When removing the cherries from the alcohol, place them on a paper towel-lined tray and pat them dry as needed. The longer they sit out, the more they will dry out.
If you continue to have issues, dip the cherries in powdered confectioner’s sugar before dipping in the chocolate.
Ingredients for Spiked Christmas Cherry Bombs
- Maraschino cherries
- Alcohol of choice <– we have used whiskey, rum, vodka or champagne to great results
- White candy coating
- Sprinkles of choice
Tip: Use the leftover cherry juice that you poured out as grenadine as well as the alcohol-infused cherry juice to use in other cocktail recipes.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Liquid Measure
- Paper Towel
- Tray
- Small Bowls, for dipping
How to Make Spiked Christmas Cherries
Pour out the juice from the maraschino cherries (you can save it to use as grenadine), keeping the cherries in the jar.
Fill up the cherry jar with your alcohol of choice. Soak overnight or up to one month.
Remove the cherries from the jar and let air dry as you prepare your ingredients.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Melt the candy melts in a microwave in 25-second bursts until completely melted. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl.
Pat the cherries dry with paper towel if they are too wet before proceeding.
Dip the cherries into the melted candy coating and then dip halfway into the sprinkles.
Set the dipped cherries on your parchment paper and allow to dry.
Pin this Christmas Spiked Cherry recipe for a fun cocktail garnish for your Christmas entertaining:
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Boozy Christmas Cherries
A fun alternative to JELLO shots with less booze but just as fun to serve and enjoy, these Spiked Christmas Cherries give you an easy party dessert and a hit of a cocktail in one bite.
Ingredients
- 1- 10oz jar maraschino cherries
- 4 oz alcohol of choice
- 1 cup white candy coating
- 1/4 cup sprinkles of choice
Instructions
- Pour out the juice from the maraschino cherries (you can save it to use as grenadine), keeping the cherries in the jar.
- Fill up the cherry jar with your alcohol of choice. Soak overnight or up to one month.
- Remove the cherries from the jar and let air dry as you prepare your ingredients.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt the candy melts in a microwave in 25-second bursts until completely melted. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl.
- Pat the cherries dry with paper towel if they are too wet before proceeding.
- Dip the cherries into the melted candy coating and then dip halfway into the sprinkles.
- Set the dipped cherries on your parchment paper and allow to dry.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 78Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 0g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your friends love this fun spiked cherry recipe as much as mine did!
For more tantalizing cocktails, check out our full cocktail recipe collection here:
The spiked cherries from the Christmas Cherry Bombs post on Sugar Spice & Glitter are such a clever holiday party treat. If you are looking to pair them with a fun night out, check out SET Lounge & Billiards – their lounge vibes, cocktails and games would make the perfect backdrop for enjoying treats like these with friends https://setloungeny.com/
These cherry bombs look festive and harmless, just a fun holiday treat. But I know from my own struggle with alcoholism that something seemingly small can become a dangerous pattern. What starts as a soaked cherry can turn into something much darker when addiction takes hold. I spent years hiding behind celebrations and party recipes. The truth was that I could not stop at just one, no matter how pretty the sprinkles were. Real change only came when I stopped romanticizing the alcohol and walked into inpatient rehab to rebuild my life from the ground up. Now I enjoy holidays fully present and free.