Baked Chocolate Covered Cherries & holiday link up

These little cookies are always made in December for our Christmas Open House.  They are a lot of work and I try and not make them every year but my youngest daughter always request them so I do make them. She insist that I make them because they are really good and they are a part of our tradition.  She helped make them last year and told me she will do them herself this year (she is 12.)

Baked Chocolate Covered Cherries


Ingredients
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. margarine, softened (sorry folks but I tried butter and margarine works best)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
16oz jar Maraschino cherries with stems on (need about 30 cherries, separate juice from cherries)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, salt, b.powder and b. soda.
In another bowl, beat together margarine & sugar until fluffy.
Add egg & vanilla.
Gradually add dry ingredients & beat until well blended.
Shape dough into 1-2 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Press thumb into center and put in a cherry.  Cover top of cherry with more dough.
Bake 10-12 minutes and let cool completely.
While baking make frosting.

Frosting (optional)

6 oz pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
Drained cherry juice

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and sweetened condensed milk.
Heat until chocolate melts.
Stir in 4 tsp. of reserved cherry juice.
Once the cookies come out of the oven, spoon about 1/2-1 tsp over each cherry.

These are very yummy! They just take time consuming to make.

Below you will read the details but with this post I'm picking the winner from the first 100 entries! Remember for every 50 entries into this link up, I pick a winner. The winner from the first 1-50 comments was picked. Today I'm picking the winner from the 1-100 entries. Today's winner will get a $25 Hodgson Mill Gift Certificate to the online store! That random winner is entry is # 19 Budget Saving Mom with the reindeer hand craft!

Link up your Holiday Tips, Crafts & Recipes!

• For every 50 link ups I will have a giveaway for those that link up. I will pull a number and that will be the winner. So enter as many links as you want. Please let others know about this, too! What will you get? Various prizes include gift cards, codes, coupons, candy, holiday goodies and more!

• Several times a week I will draw numbers for ideas posted and feature that blog. So again, link up so you can be featured.

• In return, I just ask that if you link up please consider following my blog, leaving a comment and making an effort to visit friends who link up!  Check the tag for Holiday Tips, Crafts & Recipes to see more post. 
• The link is set up to post the newest link on the top. That way all the wonderful Thanksgiving ideas are on the bottom and the fresh Christmas & New Year ideas are on top!