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I wanted to see if I could replicate my favorite brown sugar bon bon to share as a holiday treat and the result was a perfect Copycat See’s Bordeaux!
Have you ever had a See’s Bordeaux? I grew up on that stuff. Every Christmas and Easter there would be no shortage of See’s candy around us, and I would always go for the Bordeaux first. I’ll take this creamy, rich, sugary bon bon over anything with nuts or caramel. I’m one of those uniquely talented folks who can identify every See’s candy from the outside before even taking a bite. I had to avoid biting into that nasty one that tastes like fruitcake, afterall. When I figured out I could actually replicate my favorite bon bon from the comfort of my own kitchen, I was a little thrilled, to put it mildly.
The inside consists of brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, and coffee. No wonder it tastes good, right? Those four ingredients alone could satisfy every sweet tooth craving I’ll ever have!
I’m not the best chocolate dipper in the world. In fact, I think I kind of suck at it. Because my first dip wasn’t very pretty, I ended up throwing them back in for a double dip and that did the trick! I didn’t have chocolate cake sprinkles like you see on the real Bordeaux’s but knew I had to pretty them up a bit, so I just put my extra chocolate in a plastic bag, snipped off the corner, and drizzled it on top. Perfection.
Before I took my final photos, I threw my dried bon bons in the freezer with all of my other holiday treats. I can’t remember if i simply ran out of time or ran out of daylight, but the final photos didn’t happen on the day I made them. Pity, because once you stick them in the freezer and then pull them out, the chocolate loses its shine, but we’ll just pretend I didn’t do that, mmmm kay?
The inside is a wonderful, sweet, rich, creamy, naughty center. Again, had I not been in a rush and actually allowed these beauties to come to room temperature instead of cutting a frozen one in half, they would have looked even more awesome, but I’m not too proud to admit my mistakes! It didn’t stop me from eating them either!
Be sure to scroll down past the recipe to see all of my past year’s holiday treats too!!!
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Pin ItCopycat See’s Bordeaux
Equipment
Ingredients
Inside filling:
- 1 cup golden brown sugar packed, C&H brand recommended, other brands may result in a more grainy texture
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee (finely ground) Optional, See's Bordeaux does not have coffee, but I liked the flavor it added (I used Starbucks Via)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Outer chocolate coating:
- 12 ounces dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Using a heavy bottom saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 cup golden brown sugar together over medium high heat and bring to boil. Allow to boil for about two minutes.
- Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon instant coffee (finely ground) (if using), and a 1/8 teaspoon salt and allow to come to a boil again for about 30 seconds while stirring constantly to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar to mixture and stir in well until a consistent dough is formed. Chill until mixture holds shape similar to play dough, about 2 hours.
- Roll sugar dough into 1-inch balls and set on a wax paper lined sheet. Freeze for about 10 minutes for easier dipping.
- Melt 12 ounces dark chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter at 50% power in 1 minute increments in microwave, stirring after each minute, until melted.
- Dip candy balls into melted chocolate and allow to set on the wax paper. Either sprinkle with chocolate cake sprinkles or pipe a very thin stream of chocolate on top, if desired.
- Store in airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve never made candy at all before, but my mom is a huge lover of See’s bordeaux, and I wanted to see if I could make her some since we’re not close to a See’s store and it’s so expensive. I made them without coffee, and by the time I was doing the dipping my whole family was in the kitchen for lunch asking what I was making. I was terrified they wouldn’t come out right, so I gave my mom one without telling her what it was, and when she bit into it her eyes lit up and she said, “It’s a bordeaux! It’s a bordeaux!” I was absolutely not equipped to figure out the recipe myself, so thank you again- you’ve made my mother very happy.
Greetings Krissy, Very excited to try my first recipe with you of CopyCat Bordeauxs. I am curious, though, as to the type of dark chocolate you used. Since the 1980’s when we lived close to a See’s in California, we (me) became addicted and have always gotten milk bordeaux. One year they mailed dark chocolate in error and I literally could not tell the difference so I’d like to stick as closely as possible to your recipe. Please advise. Thank you, Tracy DiMaggio, Wisconsin (no See’s anywhere near)!
You can definitely use any kind of chocolate you like, and milk chocolate will work. I, personally, prefer dark chocolate, so that’s how I made them. Really, any kind of chocolate bar will work. Valrhona is my absolute favorite, but they are hard to find. I really like Lindt chocolate bars and they are much more easy to find at major grocery stores. You can even use chocolate chips if you want.
These were a huge hit this holiday! Bordeaux’s are my mother in law’s favorite candy of all time and she raved about them. She refused to share with anyone! Hahaha! I’m making them again this weekend for her surprise retirement party. Thank you for figuring out this recipe!
I followed you recipe without the coffee and it’s a winner ! I made it as a molded candy instead of a dipped one and it worked great. Will definitely be adding this one to my treat box. Thanks for posting it.