These firecracker cherries are soaked in sweet cola, then dipped in white chocolate and kissed with blue sugar for the perfect red white and blue dessert!
Your new favorite party dessert is here! These firecracker cherries are no-bake, can be made in about 10 minutes (not including the soaking time), and are kid-friendly!
If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest over the last year or so, you may have seen cherries that looked very similar to these. I can’t take credit for this recipe idea… I stumbled across these buzzed cherry bombs from Frosting and a Smile and was instantly in love. I mean look how amazing they are… and they’re boozy!!
Now I’m all about the booze, but I wanted to do a version of that dessert that was more kid-friendly, since I know my kids are absolutely NUTS about cherries. So instead of soaking the cherries in alcohol, I opted for cola!
Of course, you could actually not use any liquid to soak the cherries in, and just leave them as is… but I realllllly love the added pop of flavor from the cola!
While I’ve made these red white and blue to be patriotic, you could absolutely use any color combinations you’d like. Here are some great options:
- White chocolate with pink sugar for Valentine’s Day
- White chocolate with green sugar for Christmas
- White chocolate with gold sugar for New Years
So here’s the breakdown on how to make these firecracker cherries. First, grab your jar of maraschino cherries and drain out the cherry “juice” that’s in there. Replace the juice with cola and seal the jar. Refrigerate it for 1-2 days.
Take the cherries out of the cola and dab them with a paper towel. You want them dry, but don’t squeeze too hard or all the liquid will run out of them. Dip the cherry 2/3 of the way down into the melted chocolate, then 1/3 of the way into the blue sugar. Easy peasy!
The hardest part about these cherries is stopping yourself from eating them while you make the rest of the cherries!
So grab some cherries, cola, white chocolate and sugar from the store and definitely make these for your next party!!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 cup regular cola (I used Coke, but Pepsi is fine too)
- 10 oz jar maraschino cherries (with stems)
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips or candy melts
- 1/3 cup blue sanding sugar (or any other tiny blue sprinkles)
Instructions
- Drain cherry juice from the jar of cherries, then pour in cola. Tighten lid and refrigerate for 1-2 days.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.
- Drain cola from jar of cherries and carefully pat cherries dry with paper towels. Let cherries sit on a piece of folded paper towel while you melt the white chocolate.
- Melt chocolate according to package directions (or add to microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring between each burst, until melted).
- Dip cherries 2/3 of the way into the white chocolate, then 1/3 of the way into the blue sugar.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining cherries.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Eileen Derosa says
just made this and it’s so so tasty! Thanks you Amanda.
Kristin says
I LOVE this!! Perfect 4th of July boat snack!
Melissa says
Can I do this with normal cherries? I moved to a small city in Turkey and haven’t found maraschino cherries anywhere…
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Melissa 🙂 I think this recipe would be great with traditional fresh cherries! Just watch out for the pits when eating them!
Carlos At Spoonabilities says
Those Cherries look so beautiful!!
They will look amazing in kid birthday party
Maryanne | the little epicurean says
These are so festive and pretty! I never thought about soaking cherries in cola, but it’s a delicious idea!
Catalina @ Peas & Peonies says
These cherries look great! Perfect for a summer party!
Jen says
OMG!!! These are so adorable!! Totally making them for Memorial day and 4th of July!!
Delaney | Melanie Makes says
These are adorable! Perfect for 4th of July.
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
These are so cute, and a fun treat for the kiddos!
Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie says
These are so pretty! They are going to be a hit at everyone’s cookouts!
Karly says
Okay, these are BEYOND adorable, and kinda sorta genius too. Perfect for memorial day cookouts and the 4th in a couple of months!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
I love the idea of customizing these for any occasion ~ they’re fabulous, I would have never thought of ‘marinating’ them in Coke!