Chocolate Cherry Mice
Chocolate cherry mice candies are whimsical little creatures made with candy and nuts. Kids of all ages will have a blast making and eating these chocolate mice.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon shortening
- 20 maraschino cherries with stems
- 20 Hershey’s kisses
- sliced almonds have more than enough for matching sizes and because they break easily
- black icing writer
- small red candies such as dragees or cinnamon candies
Instructions
- Place chocolate chips and shortening in a small microwave-safe mixing bowl.
- Heat in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until chips are mostly melted.
- Stop heating and continue stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Spread a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface.
- Hold a maraschino cherry gently by its stem. Be sure any excess cherry juice has been removed, or dab the cherry onto a paper towel. Dip the cherry down into the chocolate mixture to coat well. Lift out and place on the parchment paper. You can adjust how you set the cherry to determine how the “tail” of the “mouse” will set.
- Place a Hershey’s kiss with the flat side leaned onto the chocolate-dipped cherry to form the mouse’s head.
- Repeat these steps for about half of the cherries. This will allow the chocolate to set up just a bit before adding the other face components.
- Identify slivered almonds that are similar in size for each mouse’s ears. Break the narrower end’s tip off of each ear. Wedge the “ears” between Hershey's kiss and the cherry.
- Use a small hole in the icing writer and dot two eyes onto the mouse’s head.
- With a toothpick, dab a bit of the melted chocolate onto the point of the Hershey’s kiss. Place a red candy on the tip of the nose.
- Allow the chocolate to set and harden. Gently peel the “mice” off of the parchment paper to eat.
Notes
PRO TIP: Reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time if it begins to thicken too much for dipping.
PRO TIP: Apart from dipping the cherries, the chocolate actually works best if it’s cooled and thickened. Allow the chocolate to cool before trying to place the ears or nose.
PRO TIP: If you want to speed up the hardening process, you can pop the mice in the freezer for a few minutes.