On the eve of her retirement from the newspaper industry, and her position as advertising manager of the Langley Advance, Peggy O’Brien shares one of her favourite Christmas recipes.
“Christmas was always a special time of year when Colleen and I would spend time in the kitchen making her dad’s favourite treats,” she said of her chocolate rum cherries.
“This is a fun-time favourite that the family has always enjoyed.”
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Chocolate Rum Cherries
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Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup margarine
1 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. almond extract
4 (4 oz.) jars maraschino cherries (with stems), drained
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. shortening
1/2 cup rum
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Directions:
Soak cherries overnight in the rum. Drain well on paper towel.
In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, margarine, milk and almond extract.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the mixture into a large ball. Roll into 1 inch balls. Flatten the balls into 1 inch circles. Leaving the stems sticking out, wrap the cherries in the circles by lightly rolling in hands. Place the wrapped cherries on wax paper and chill in the refrigerator at least four hours.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt chocolate chips and shortening.
Holding by the stem, dip the chilled cherries into chocolate mixture. Chill until served. (Can also be rolled in crushed nuts.)
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