Cordially Cherry Happy Janes

So as I mentioned before.. I came up with a new flavor of Happy Janes this past weekend. ok.. so the IDEA for the flavor stemmed a long time ago from my husband who, several months ago, begged me to do a chocolate and cherry combination.

well maybe not BEGGED.

he might have done a gorilla-styled "oooh-oooh-oooh!!!" in asking me, though.

not one to disappoint, I declared February would be the month to do it. I mulled around some different ideas.. fresh cherries, dried cherries, cherry extract... white chocolate, milk chocolate.. DARK chocolate.... Finally I decided to go with a chocolate cookie base, topped with a cherry-infused ganache, coated in a dark chocolate.


cherry-infused, you ask?

yeah. so I took some cherries, and added them to my heavy cream during the boiling process of making my ganache. once the cream was boiling, I strained the cherries out. This part was NOT very pretty, and gave the cream a funky reddish-brown color... but I definitely feel there was a certain sweet after-taste that the cherries added.

once my chocolate was fully melted and mixed with the cream, I folded in some finely chopped DRIED cherries. As you can see.. I totally avoided using cherry extract. for one.. because it's crap. but seriously.. it gives things such a maraschino FAKE cherry taste that I can't be affiliated with. bleh! so no extract.

after the piping was done, I coated in a bittersweet and extra dark chocolate blend, then topped with some festive heart sprinkles.

these are truly a chocolate lover's treat.... but I do enjoy the chewy and zingy-sweet element the cherries add. So let's say hello and welcome to the newest Jane in the neighborhood... the Cordially Cherry.

if the description and pictures of the Cordially Cherry Happy Janes aren't enough for you.. take a stroll over to A Taste of Stepford. By the end of March, things will be set up there for you to be able to order your very own batch of Janes.