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Chocolate Cherry Mice are the cutest little Christmas-time treats! You will love the tasty combination of a milk chocolate Hershey’s kiss and chocolate covered cherry. Kids love the adorable mouse face that is fun to make and eat.
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These sweet, edible Chocolate Cherry Mice are a favorite in our family. Our mom saw the idea on television once and then put her own spin on these sweet treats to make them even cuter! We loved to help her make them when we were kids, and now the grandkids love making them too.
Ingredients in Chocolate Cherry Mice
- Milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips or candy melts – I love using chocolate candy melts in this recipe. They are so easy to use, they melt so well and turn out so smooth every time. Wilton and Ghirardelli are both great brands. Of course, you can use chocolate chips as well, but you will have to add a little bit of oil to them.
- Maraschino cherries WITH stems – It’s important to find the cherries WITH stems. They are tough to find sometimes, but you need the stems to make the mice tails. The stems become the tail of the mouse.
- Hershey chocolate kisses – You can use milk or dark chocolate depending on your preference.
- Peanut halves – This recipe calls for halved peanuts for the ears, but you could easily swap them out for sliced almonds or even little bits of marshmallows for the ears.
- Cinnamon red hot candies – These are getting harder to find around the holidays as well. A mini M&M will also work as a nose.
- White frosting – I usually just buy a small squeeze tube from the grocery store cake aisle, but you can also make your own. Our recipe for royal icing is perfect for the small detail of the eyes.
How To Prepare The Body of the Chocolate Cherry Mice
You can easily make these yourself, or bring in the kids and make an assembly line. It’s a fun project for the whole family during Christmas break.
- Unwrap the Hershey kisses and place them in a large bowl.
- Drain cherries in a colander and dry with a paper towel.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.
- Dip the maraschino cherry in the melted chocolate. Hold the cherry by the stem and make sure it is fully covered in the chocolate. Place the dipped cherry on it’s side on a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.
- Press a chocolate kiss onto the front of the cherry. It’s important to do this while the chocolate covered cherry is still wet so they will stick together.
How To Decorate The Chocolate Cherry Mice
Tiny hands may struggle with this part, but older kids will do great.
- Ears – press two halved peanuts or almond slices between the cherry and kiss for the ears. Make sure to do this while the chocolate is still wet.
- Eyes – add two dots of white frosting. If you don’t have a frosting bag and tip, then you can spoon the frosting into a small plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag to pipe eyes.
- Nose – with a toothpick, add a dot of melted chocolate to a red hot and place it on the end of the kiss. There are your chocolate cherry mice!
Christmas Mice For Holiday Neighbor Gifts
Turn these chocolate mice into Christmas mice for a darling neighbor gift for the holidays. Make a plate of them and attach a card saying “‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Be sure the chocolate is dry and hardened completely before covering them with plastic wrap or placing them in a tin or cellophane bag.
In addition to serving or gifting them on a plate, they are a fun topper for cupcakes or a themed birthday cake.
Frequently Asked Questions about Chocolate Mice
If you keep the candy in a cool, dry place, then these sweet treats will stay fresh for up to two weeks.
Of course! Swap out the milk chocolate for white or even dark chocolate.
You can easily swap out peanuts for almonds, or mini-marshmallows for the ears.
READ NEXT:25+ Christmas Dessert Ideas
More Fun Christmas Treats
In our family, we love making big batches of goodies to give to our neighbors, and candy is our favorite thing to make! Here are a few more favorites to box up for friends and neighbors.
- Christmas Crunch Popcorn
- See’s Fudge Copycat Recipe
- Mom’s Homemade Caramels
- Old Fashioned Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Marshmallow Rocky Road Fudge
- Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- English Toffee
- White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
- Homemade Almond Joys
Chocolate Cherry Mice
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate candy melts milk or semi-sweet (You can also use chocolate chips with ½ teaspoon of shortening or coconut oil)
- 20 Maraschino cherries WITH stems (these are a little hard to find, but they are a must!)
- 20 Hershey’s chocolate kisses
- 40 Unsalted peanut halves
- 20 Red-hots
- White decorating frosting I usually just buy a small squeeze tube from the grocery store cake aisle.
Instructions
- In the microwave or over the stove, melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth.
- Holding a cherry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate. Place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper.
- Press a chocolate kiss to the front of the cherry. The wet chocolate will hold them together. Wedge peanut halves between the cherry and chocolate kiss to make the ears.
- Add a couple dots of white frosting for eyes, then put a little melted chocolate on a red-hot and place on the end of the kiss to make the nose.
Notes
- Unwrap the Hershey kisses and place them in a large bowl.
- Drain cherries in a colander and dry with a paper towel.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.
- Dip the maraschino cherry in the melted chocolate. Hold the cherry by the stem and make sure it is fully covered in the chocolate. Place the dipped cherry on it’s side on a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.
- Press a chocolate kiss onto the front of the cherry. It’s important to do this while the chocolate covered cherry is still wet so they will stick together.
Nutrition Information
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These look adorable lining the edge of a cheesecake.
Great idea! Thank you, Diane!
Can I freeze them?
Sure!
I made these a couple of years ago for a holiday party. I put them in a lined shoebox with shelled sunflower seeds for ‘droppings’.
These came out so cute! I wound up using fresh Rainier cherries and dark chocolate kisses, and then sliced almonds for the ears. They came out great! I gave them as a birthday gift and the recipient loved them. Will make again for sure! They’ve kept for at least 4 days without refrigeration and are fabulous.
Yay! So glad to hear!
The only place I could find cherries WITH stems was in a liquor store. They come in both regular and liquor saturated. Of course, be sure to get the regular if making for children.
Tavette – South Florida
Do these have to stay refrigerated
No, you can store them on the counter in an airtight container.
Can’t wait to try this recipe out for xmas! Ty
Gordon Food Service (GFS) sells sells big containers of the stem on cherries
I used mini red M&M s for the nose.
The kind that comes in a little tube of red & green for Christmas!
Adorable! I m wondering if these could be frozen as I d like to make ahead?!
I think that would work!
These are absolutely adorable! Made them with my niece and nephew who at 5 and 4 thought they were the most fun thing ever!
I just love these adorable little mice! My daughter giggled the entire time we were making them, so fun!