6 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more sugar for coating 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1/3 cup apple juice* 2 1/2 cups finely ground vanilla wafers 1 cup finely chopped pecans Candied cherry halves
* For ''grown-up'' sugarplums, substitute brandy for the apple juice.
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir in the 1/2 cup sugar, the corn syrup and the apple juice. Off the heat, stir in the wafer crumbs and pecans to make a paste-like mixture. Let mixture cool enough to handle.
Roll small bits of mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the additional sugar. Press a candied cherry half into top center of each ball. Store in an airtight container. These cookies improve with age.
