Christmas Cherry Bombs are always a hit with adults for the holiday season! Made with maraschino cherries soaked in peppermint schnapps, these boozy bites have a white chocolate and peppermint candy coating and are festively flavored and decorated for Christmas.
Christmas Drunken Cherries
Our Christmas Cherry Bombs recipe is a fun take on the classic chocolate-covered cherries and a fruity twist on my Candy Cane Jello Shots, made with the minty flavor of peppermint schnapps and crushed candy so they resemble the holiday spirit of my Grinch Jello Shots.
Boozy cherry bombs are an easy and festive way to turn a classic cocktail garnish into fun party food – simply soak them in alcohol, dip them in melted chocolate, and decorate with colorful candy, sprinkles, or sugar.
When you’re tired of sipping and slurping a spiked jello cherry bomb shot, this recipe is the perfect replacement – after all, a delicious dessert deserves to be served alongside the holiday cookies and other Christmas recipes.
Why We Love Boozy Christmas Cherry Bombs Recipes
- Quick and easy to make in minutes.
- Uses only 4 ingredients.
- A burst of peppermint schnapps gives these minty sweet treats a boozy bite.
- Fun way to get your candy cane fix in the form of alcohol-infused fruit.
- You can customize the colors for Fourth of July, Christmas, New Year’s or other holidays and special occasions.
Christmas Cherry Bombs Ingredients
- Maraschino cherries with stems
- Peppermint schnapps
- White chocolate melting discs
- Peppermint candies
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Chocolate: You can substitute vanilla almond bark or white chocolate chips for the white chocolate melting candy discs. Be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging for melting instructions.
- Use Another Alcohol: You can swap out the type of alcohol used for these cherry bombs. Make your boozy Christmas bombs with vanilla vodka, spiced rum, bourbon, or even Fireball cinnamon whisky.
- Customize Your Colors: Feel free to use blue sanding sugar sprinkles and serve these treats at a patriotic gathering. Or customize your candy with the color sprinkle to coordinate with a themed party, favorite sports team, or other holidays.
- Make A Virgin Version: To make these treats kid-friendly, you don’t have to soak them in alcohol. To make this all-age appropriate, skip soaking the cherries and simply pat them dry, dip them in melted chocolate, and decorate with crushed candy, nonpareils, or sprinkles.
How to Make Christmas Cherry Bombs
- Drain Juice In The Jar: Drain out ⅓ cup of cherry juice from the jar, but do not remove cherries.
- Add Alcohol: Add peppermint schnapps to the jar and replace the lid. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight.
Pro Tip: The longer you allow your cherries to soak in the peppermint schnapps-infused juice, the stronger the flavor will be. - Pat Dry: Remove all the alcohol-infused cherries from the jar and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Melt: Microwave the white chocolate for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stir, then heat in 15-30 second intervals until melted and smooth.
Pro Tip: For best results, follow the melting instructions on your brand’s packaging for the white chocolate melting discs. Be sure to stir between each time of heating. - Dip And Decorate: Hold a dry cherry by the stem and dip it into the melted chocolate and then while wet, into the crushed peppermint candies. Place each dipped cherry onto tray, so that the stem is pointing up.
- Serve: Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Christmas Cherry Bombs
- Be sure to choose a high-quality brand of stemmed maraschino cherries, as you want nice plump cherries for the best results.
- Ensure your cherries are well-patted dry before dipping them into the melted white chocolate. Any excess liquid can cause the white chocolate to seize and not adhere to the cherries.
- You may need to break apart the crushed peppermint candy pieces every so often, as it can tend to clump together in more humid temperatures. It can get “stuck” in clumps as well if any of the melted white chocolate gets mixed into it as you are dipping the cherries.
- If changing the alcohol from peppermint schnapps to another alcohol, then you may also want to change out the crushed peppermint candies as well and use colored sprinkles.
How to Store Christmas Cherry Bombs
- To Store: You can store these cherry bombs, loosely covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. However, I do find that the condensation from the refrigerator can cause the white chocolate to not adhere to the cherries well.
- To Freeze: Do not freeze!
More Easy Christmas Treats Recipes
Other Easy Adult Only Treats
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Christmas Cherry Bombs
Serves — 16
Christmas Cherry Bombs are delicious cherries soaked in schnapps and dipped in chocolate and crushed candy.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 ounces jar of maraschino cherries with stems
- ¼ cup peppermint schnapps
- 5 ounces white chocolate melting discs
- ¼ cup peppermint candies finely crushed (from 10-12 pieces)
Instructions
- Remove the lid to the jar of maraschino cherries, being sure to save the lid, and drain out ⅓ cup of the juice from the jar of the maraschino cherries. You want to keep the cherries in the jar.10 ounces jar of maraschino cherries with stems
- To the jar of maraschino cherries, add ¼ cup peppermint schnapps. Replace the lid to the jar of maraschino cherries and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight. The longer you allow your cherries to soak in the peppermint schnapps-infused juice, the stronger the flavor will be.¼ cup peppermint schnapps
- Once the cherries have soaked in the peppermint schnapps-flavored cherry juice, carefully remove all the maraschino cherries from the jar, place them onto a paper towel-lined plate, and pat the cherries dry really well.
- Line a rimmed tray with a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, add the white chocolate melting discs. Microwave for 30 seconds – 1 minute at 50% power, stir, then microwave an additional 15-30 seconds or until the white chocolate is fully melted and stirred to a smooth consistency. For best results, follow the melting instructions on your brand's packaging for the white chocolate melting discs. Be sure to stir between each time of heating.5 ounces white chocolate melting discs
- Hold a very dry maraschino cherry by the stem and dip it into the melted white chocolate, covering approximately ¾ of the cherry with the white chocolate.
- Once you have dipped the cherry into the white chocolate, then dip the bottom of the white chocolate dipped cherry into the crushed peppermint candies. Place the dipped cherry onto the prepared rimmed tray. Be sure that the stem is pointing up. Repeat until all the stemmed maraschino cherries have been dipped.¼ cup peppermint candies
- Place the tray of cherry bombs into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: You can store these cherry bombs, loosely covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. However, I do find that the condensation from the refrigerator can cause the white chocolate to not adhere to the cherries well.
- To Freeze: Do not freeze!
- Be sure to choose a high-quality brand of stemmed maraschino cherries, as you want nice plump cherries for the best results.
- You can substitute vanilla almond bark for the white chocolate melting candy discs. Be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging for melting instructions.
- Use a good quality white candy melting disc for best results. I used the Ghirardelli brand (found in the baking aisle at your local grocery store) as I find it gives the most consistent results and tastes great, too.
- For the crushed peppermint candies, I used the individually wrapped starlight peppermint candies (unwrapped); however, you can use mini candy canes as well for this recipe. I placed the peppermint candies into a heavy-duty zip-top bag and crushed them using a rolling pin.
- Be sure that your cherries are really well patted dry before dipping them into the melted white chocolate, as any excess liquid can cause the white chocolate to seize up and not adhere to the cherries.
- You may need to break apart the crushed peppermint candy every so often, as it can tend to clump together in more humid temperatures. It can get “stuck” in clumps as well if any of the melted white chocolate gets mixed into it as you are dipping the cherries.
- You can swap out the type of alcohol used for these cherry bombs for vanilla vodka, spiced rum, or even Fireball cinnamon whisky.
- If changing the alcohol from peppermint schnapps to another alcohol, then you may also want to change out the crushed peppermint candies as well and use colored sprinkles. If you use blue sanding sugar sprinkles, you could serve these at a patriotic gathering. You can customize these with the color sprinkle you prefer to coordinate with a themed party, favorite sports team, or other holidays.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.1mg
I can’t wait to make these. I think I’m going to make them in chocolate also so yummy I just can’t wait.
Can I make these without using alcohol
Yup – you sure can! Check out the substitutions and additions section!