Chocolate Mice
Narrative
by Sandy Opitz March 9, 2018
Walking into the house I’ve known since before I could remember, the warmth hits me and I feel immediately welcomed into the comfort of the den away from the freezing winter weather outside. I can see, just barely, Grandma working behind the kitchen island. As she hears the door open and the greetings from her son, she turns around and joyously exclaims, opening her arms to me while I run for the first hug. Sweet smells waft through the air and my dad says goodbye, knowing he’ll see me tomorrow for the family Christmas. I look around and my brother and I set our stuff down next to the pillows and blankets laid out by the tree where we would be sleeping. Our Grandma tells us to wash our hands and once we’re ready, we stand on our step stools and wait for instruction. We knew how this worked. Every year, we would stay the night at our grandma’s house and help her make the special mice for the following day where our dad, cousins, and uncle would come over for the Christmas lunch and presents. My brother and I raced to see who could make the most mice, dripping chocolate everywhere and laughing at the stories Grandma told about our dad when he was our age. I didn’t like cherries, but I loved these mice. I would never eat them, but I’d always make them. They were fun. My brother and I never got along more than when we were making these mice. The smell of chocolate and cherries, snacking on almonds and stealing a Hershey's kiss from the bowl when Grandma wasn’t looking. Those were times I craved and looked forward to before the holidays. Now that I’m older, I find comfort in knowing I spent time in a world where the only things that worried me were tree decorations and whether or not my mice would stick together.
Gram
18+ servings. 30 minutes- 1 hour(depending on how much help you have! The more the merrier!)
Ingredients
- A bag of Hershey's kisses (bag size depending on your decided serving size. Keep in mind you'll be using some to melt and some for the mice's heads)
- 1+ Jar(s) of Maraschino Cherries
- 1+ bag(s) of sliced almonds
- Parchment paper
- Pan or surface for mice to cool
Directions
Unwrap the kisses and set a desired amount aside for decorating(and maybe snacking) then, place other kisses in microwave safe bowl and heat until melted. Stir chocolate thoroughly and place bowl on working space. Take your pan or surface, cover with the parchment paper so that the mice will not stick and now for the main event!
Dip your cherries in the melted chocolate up to the stem- if you don't cover the entire cherry and then some, it could leak and cause a mess! Place your chocolate dipped cherry on the non stick work surface and place the flat side of a non-melted kiss onto the cherry opposite of the tail(stem). Then grab two sliced almonds and wedge them between the head and body, dipping in chocolate if needed. Repeat.