Chocolate Fruit Balls

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup maraschino cherry, any color, drained well
• 1 egg
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup finely chopped pitted dates
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 16 ounces semisweet chocolate, about 16 squares
• 1/4 cup butter

Recipe

• 1 1.finely chop cherries, then pat dry with paper towels. in a large bowl, whisk egg. gradually whisk in sugar until evenly mixed. using a wooden spoon, stir in peanut butter until well mixed. then stir in pecans, dates, coconut and cherries until evenly distributed. line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. pinch off about 1 tsp (5 ml) mixture and roll into a ball. place on baking sheet. continue with remaining mixture. refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• 2 2.coarsely chop chocolate and place in a small bowl with butter. microwave on medium, stirring halfway through, until chocolate is almost melted, 2 to 3 minute then stir until smooth. remove balls from refrigerator. poke a fork or wooden skewer into a ball. dip into melted chocolate to completely coat, then lightly tap fork on edge of bowl to remove excess. place ball on parchment.
• 3 3.repeat with remaining balls. refrigerate until chocolate sets, at least 1 hour, before serving or storing. if making ahead, place balls in a sealed container and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 2 months.