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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
- 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.
How long can these be stored in the refrigerator?
This is the kind of treat I like to consume same day. If you store them in the refrigerator you risk condensation forming on the chocolate.
I made this with the coffee crystals- my center tasted exactly like the Bordeaux! It was a little softer. I made larger chocolate Easter eggs and the balls with coverture chocolate. My husband was impressed. Can’t wait to share them at Easter. I love how I can scale your recipe by quantity. And the center is so easy to make.
Glad you liked it! And I love the scaling feature on the recipes too. I use it all the time.
Hi, had a chance to make the Sees Bordeaux and it came out pretty well but the butter seemed to not combine very well. I had little chunks of butter in the candy center. How can this be fixed and what went wrong? Also I split the mix and added about 2tbs of maple syrup and this made a maple Bordeaux ( really nice 👍) thanks for the recipe
Hmmm. Not sure what may have happened. Could have something to do with the quality of the butter, how hot it was cooked, your elevation, humidity in your home… lots of possibilities. I LOVE maple, though, and am anxious to try your maple syrup method!
Great recipe, except I need a lot more practice on the chocolate bit!
Still great, not that pretty.
Thank you.
What brand of dark chocolate do you use? I find See’s chocolate to be the best I’ve ever had, not just any chocolate will do. I too grew up on it and am now spoiled and ruined for substandard chocolate! Please help!
Hi Brandi! I think valrhona chocolate is the absolute best!
If you like See’s chocolates, you can buy bars to use. They sell dark chocolate bars which melt beautifully.
Great suggestion!
Should I sift the powdered sugar before I measure it? When I do that I use a significantly smaller amount.
Yes. You want 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar.
I can’t get c&h brown sugar here. If I get it shipped, it’s too expensive. Might aswell by the sees. Is there another way to make it not grainy with other brown sugar?
I haven’t tried other brown sugars but if you find one that looks and feels like soft sand, it should work!
You can make your own brown sugar and save lots of money!
Brown Sugar: 1 cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon Molasses
Dark Brown Sugar: 1 cup sugar and 2 Tablespoons Molasses
Mix ingredients in a Processor and pulse through it and scrape the sides until it’s completely incorporated.
My filling was a bit grainy. I tried to correct that with more heat and a little more cream. Mixed feelings on the flavor…BUT willing to try it again!
PS. Most definitely at the coffee to the mix!
Best bon bons ever! My family loves them! I double the batch. FYI; (instant coffee) I melt it in just a splash of scolding water. I just can’t get it to melt incorporating it straight to Pan. Thank you much for sharing such a delight!
Is there a difference between golden brown sugar and light brown sugar? Thanks.
Same thing.
Wow, loved finding this. I make macarons and the other day I decided to try a filling with espresso powder mixed with Swiss buttercream. It tasted so much like See’s Bordeaux and, yes, I grew up on it too. I decided to search and see if Bordeaux was a flavour profile and found your site. I think now I need to make a brown sugar buttercream and add the espresso to that. I also might try my hand at making the candy at some time.
Brown sugar buttercream with espresso… Mercy! That sounds amazing.