How to Make Candied Cherries (Cherries Glacé) to Jazz Up Desserts

Sometimes, there’s nothing quite like a perfectly scooped ice cream sundae drizzled in chocolate sauce and jeweled with candied cherries. The cherries might not be the star of the sundae, but they sure are a delight to pop into your mouth before digging into the ice cream below. The thing about these cherries, though, is that they are way more versatile than a simple sundae topper.

You can use candied cherries to brighten beautiful birthday cakes, pile on top of whipped cream-covered Belgian waffles, drizzle over homemade cheesecake or bake into double chocolate brownies. Let’s look at how to create these sugary-sweet cherries.

How to DIY Candied Cherries

This recipe from our Test Kitchen makes 1-1/4 cups of cherries.

Ingredients

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• 1 jar (16 ounces) maraschino cherries, undrained
• 3/4 cup sugar

Directions

Step 1: Dissolve sugar

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Drain cherries, reserving 1/3 cup of the juice. Place the juice and sugar in a small, heavy saucepan. Stir gently to moisten all the sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, gently swirling the pan occasionally. Cook until the sugar is dissolved.

Step 2: Simmer cherries

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Add cherries to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. Gently stir every 10 minutes and keep simmering until a candy thermometer reads 235°F (soft-ball stage) and the cherries are slightly wrinkled. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes.

Step 3: Remove from heat

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Remove the cherries from the heat, and uncover the pan. Cool to room temperature. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cherries to a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool completely.

FAQs About Candied Cherries

How Long Can I Store Candied Cherries?

If placed in an airtight container (like a Mason jar), you can store candied cherries in the fridge for up to six months.

How Can I Use Candied Cherries?

Besides baking them into things like brownies or topping them on sundaes, you can mix candied cherries into homemade ice cream, garnish cookies for the holidays or eat them plain as a super sweet treat. Skip these cherries in your old-fashioned, though, and use Luxardo cherries instead—the syrupy soft texture of candied cherries might overpower the warmth of the whiskey.

Get that homemade taste in a fraction of the time. Learn how to make canned cherry pie filling taste better with a handful of not-so-secret tricks.

Aren’t Maraschino Cherries Fake?

Maraschino cherries are real cherries that have undergone a bleaching, dying and preservation process. If you want to make cherries glacé without corn syrup or red dye, you can look for natural maraschino cherries online or in grocery stores. Just be sure to read the ingredient label before buying.

Note that natural maraschino cherries will not be as luminously red because they won’t be bleached and re-pigmented, but that’s a fair trade for the removal of red dye!