Martha Washington Candy is the perfect treat when you are craving timeless old fashioned candy! Semi sweet chocolate coats these delicious little bites of heaven of creamy cherry coconut filling. The pecans and maraschino cherries add some nice texture to the candy, too! These easy candies are also great during the holiday season to give as edible gifts.
Old-fashioned recipes are some of the best around, and I love how simple the ingredients usually are. Hot milk cake literally requires only pantry staples and of course the classic chocolate meringue pie will never go out of style!
If this old-fashioned candy turns you into a candy making machine, try making our popular Chocolate Coconut Balls or our Oreo balls. If you’re feeling fancy, make Candy Seashells! These coconut bon bons are a Christmas tradition around our house, and make a wonderful addition to your Christmas cookie trays. Sometimes we make chocolate cherry mice to go along with them. Because of the choco-cherry flavor and the color, they are also a nice treat for Valentine’s day.
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🍒Ingredients:
- Butter – be sure it’s unsalted and you allow time for it to soften
- vanilla – some like to use almond extract instead.
- sweetened condensed milk – sweetens the creamy coconut filling and helps to bind the ingredients together.
- powdered sugar – another sweetener that also helps to create a smooth base
- shredded coconut flakes – I prefer the sweetened variety
- maraschino cherries
- pecans – you can use raw pecans or toast them
- chocolate chips – I recommend semi-sweet just because this candy is rich enough by itself. We do not recommend using candy melts, as they have a tendency to seize and don’t taste as great as regular chocolate. In our opinion, the best chocolate is Ghirardelli.
- shortening – helps to keep the chocolate a little softer and makes it easier to dip the candies. Coconut oil or paraffin wax could be used in place if needed.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Before the outer chocolate coating sets, garnish Martha Washington candies with more coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, or drizzle chocolate if desired.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chocolate: Mix and match milk chocolate, dark, or white chocolate. You could also use chocolate almond bark.
- Decoration: Add sprinkles, coconut flakes, or drizzle melted chocolate before the outer coating sets.
- No cherries and nuts: if desired, leave out the cherries and pecans, which will make these taste more like Almond Joy candy bars
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla until smooth. Scrap down the side of the bowl as needed.
Step 2: Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined.
Step 3: Min in the cherries, pecans, and coconut. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Step 4: Line two large baking sheets with wax paper or parchment. Use a small cookie scoop or melon baller to make 1-inch balls. Roll between the palms of your hands and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Pro Tip: Chilling the coconut balls keeps them in tact when dipping in the chocolate.
Step 5: Place the cookie sheet back in the fridge.
Step 6: Add the shortening and chocolate chips to a bowl and microwave in 30 second increment, stirring between each cycle, until the candy mixture is mostly melted.
Step 7: Stir until fully smooth.
Step 8: Use a fork to lower the candy balls into the melted chocolate chips. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Place back on the baking sheet so the candy coating can set.
Step 9: Continue dipping for the remaining candy.
SERVE: To make the candies set quicker, place them back in the refrigerator before serving.
- If the chocolate gets too thick, reheat for 15 seconds at a time.
- For a firm, “professional” chocolate coating, you can temper the chocolate by using these detailed instructions.
- The butter and large quantity of powdered sugar in the filling for these candies allows the filling to firm up quite a bit more than these similar Chocolate Coconut Balls. The filling does still need to be chilled before dipping to keep the balls intact until they are coated.
- The chocolate chips may be easier to melt and work with if you divide the chocolate/shortening mixture in half and work in batches. You could also roll all your balls, but store half in the freezer and then dip half of them at a time. 3 cups of chocolate chips will coat about 40 candies.
Fun Fact
Contrary to what you may be thinking, these candies aren’t named after the first lady. During the Great Depression, there was a chain of Martha Washington Candy stores, that finally trademarked this deliciousness. They went on to add ice cream to their stores as well.
Inside the establishments were photos of presidents and historical pictures. Elie Sheetz, the founder, aimed to make the classic candy pure and provide a wholesome environment for families.
Recipe FAQs
Candies will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
Any high quality chocolate can be used to these chocolate balls, we just don’t recommend candy melts.
More Easy Candy Recipes
If you tried this Martha Washington Candy Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Martha Washington Candy
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
- 10 oz. jar maraschino cherries drained and chopped
- 3 cups pecans chopped
- 6 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoon shortening
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened butter, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Mix in the coconut, cherries, and pecans. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to firm up the mixture.
- Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Use a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop or a melon baller to form balls from the chilled mixture. You can roll the balls in the palms of your hands to make more even, uniform balls from the mixture.
- Place the formed balls onto parchment paper and place the sheet pans back into the refrigerator.
- Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a large, microwave-safe bowl. (You can also divide the chocolate chips and shortening in half and work on dipping one half of the candies at a time.
- Heat chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until chips are mostly melted.
- Stop heating and continue stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Use a fork to dip and roll each candy ball in the melted chocolate. Lift from the chocolate, tap to remove excess chocolate, and place back on the sheet of paper to set.
- Continue dipping and setting all of the balls. Dipped candies can be placed back into the refrigerator to set more quickly.
Notes
Nutrition
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