This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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!!!
Pin this now to save it for later
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
- 1/2 cup 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)
- pinch salt
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Outer chocolate coating:
- 12 ounces dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Using a heavy bottom saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together over medium high heat and bring to boil. Allow to boil for about two minutes.
- Stir in cream, instant coffee (if using), and 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 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 chocolate and 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.
Do these taste like coffee?
I don’t think the coffee tastes is strong at all. For me, it feels like it just enhances the flavor. That being said, I drink A LOT of coffee and might detect it at different levels than other people.
1st batch was gritty but the second batch I cooked the brown sugar/butter ingredients longer while stirring constantly and decreased the instant coffee so that it was just a hint of that great coffee flavor and it tasted more like the Sees bordeaux. Delicious. A big hit!
Can you use instant espresso powder in place of instant coffee? Just happen to have instant espresso on hand and thought I’d ask. Would it be too strong and throw off the taste?
That will work perfect!
Absolutely. Delicious.
Rave reviews from some serious Bay Area foodies!
I also added 1/4 tsp cayenne powder to the filling which added just a touch of heat and really pushed it over the top.
I can’t say enough about how good these are. Spot on in flavor. I made for company and everyone couldn’t believe they were homemade! I’ve been craving See’s Bordeaux Candy and didn’t want to order online and pick up (stores here are only open for preorder and pick up). I figured I’d save the money and make them myself. So glad I did. I made them smaller and froze some for when I get another craving. Thank you for the awesome recipe!!!
My mom and I are huge Sees Bordeaux fans. When I realized Sees was closed, I found your recipe and made a batch for Mother’s Day. Of course I had to sample along the way! My daughter also helped with quality control. She and my mom confirmed my critique- “better than See’s!” I think the coffee added is amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe, Krissy! I loved it so much, I modified it to be low carb so I can enjoy while staying in Ketosis!
Can you substitute whole milk for heavy cream?
For this particular recipe, I wouldn’t.
Have just made these! I’m from the uk but love Sees so didn’t know what to expect however these worked very well. Mine worked well because I spent a lot of time melting the sugar. – a secret of good sweet making me thinks.
Mine turned out quite good with the exception of the slight grittiness as someone else mentioned. Any ideas why this would happen? Thanks in advance.
Russ
If it’s gritty, you may have cooked it too hot/long?
Blown away! So good and so simple.
When I was a kid I bought a pound of Bordeaux for my grandfather for Christmas… Twice. I kept eating them all. 💚
Phenomenal thank you!!