Soft and chewy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with an almond-flavored cookie base and loaded with Maraschino Cherries and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips for the perfect balance of sweetness!
These Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect sweet treat any time of year! A super moist cookie that hits the mark of being sweet and delicious.
These cookies are made with a soft and buttery dough, studded with sweet and tangy maraschino cherries and rich chocolate chips.
As we're not using fresh cherries, you can make them out of cherry season. Just make sure to drain the Maraschino cherries and pat them dry.
This also means you're guaranteed that sweet and juicy cherry flavor every time.
Try this easy recipe for maraschino cherry chocolate chip cookies and indulge in the irresistible combination of sweet cherries and rich chocolate in every bite!
Make them for a birthday party, baby shower, afternoon tea, or on your holiday cookie trays! These cookies are perfect for special occasions, holidays, or as a delightful treat any time of the year.
For more delicious chocolate chip cookie recipes, check out my Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Pistachio Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies, and my Circus Animal Cookies.
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Almond Extract, Egg
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Cornstarch, Salt
Filling. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Maraschino Cherries
How to Make Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F Degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet and set aside.
Cut the cold butter into cubes and mix with Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer on low.
Mix ingredients until fully combined. This will take a few minutes. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer and cream ingredients together.
Add the Egg and Almond Extract to the mix and cream together. Beat it until it's light and fluffy. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, and Cornstarch to the butter mixture and stir to fully combine.
Slice the Maraschino Cherries into 4-6 pieces each and drain off excess cherry juice. Blot on a paper towel or napkin to remove the excess liquid.
Hand stir the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and the Maraschino Cherry pieces into the cookie dough.
Using a size #24 Cookie Scoop or use about 3 tablespoons of cookie dough, make cookie dough balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart.
Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 F Degrees for 8-9 minutes, or until edges are set.
Optional: Press extra chocolate chips on top of your baked cookies for visual appeal.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Store cookies once they have cooled to room temperature in an airtight container for 5-7 days. These cookies are best enjoyed within 2-3 days though.
Freezing: Freeze your cherry chocolate chip cookies for up to 3 months. Store them in a sealed container, and place a piece of parchment paper between each cookie to prevent sticking.
Substitutions & Variations
- Cherry Chip Cookie. Use a cherry chip cake mix to make the cookie base, then add in chopped cherries and chocolate chips. Follow the directions in my Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe to do this for a more intense cherry flavor.
- Dried Cherries. Use dried cherries and chocolate chips instead of canned ones for a more subtle cherry flavor with a different texture. They will be similar to my Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Cherry flavor. Use some cherry extract in your cookies to increase the cherry flavor.
- Color. Add some red or pink food coloring to make these cookies more festive for Valentine's Day!
- Chocolate Chips. Use milk chocolate chips or white chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chips.
- Nuts. Add some chopped nuts to the cookie dough for an added nutty flavor and a bit of crunch! Chopped almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, or pecans would work well.
- Topping. Add a drizzle of melted chocolate or icing, or add a dusting of powdered sugar for a sweet finish.
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center and crispy edges, and is it chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time here are some pro tips.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Weighing Ingredients.
Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference. Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available, make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.
| Volume | Ounces | Grams | |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Bread Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 Ounces | 200 Grams |
| Brown Sugar | 1 Cup | 7½ Ounces | 213 Grams |
| Confectionary Sugar | 1 Cup | 4 Ounces | 113 Grams |
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size, which is essential for ensuring even baking.
Baking Sheets.
You can grease your baking tray with cooking spray, but I tend to use an ungreased cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat for easier cleanup.
Baking Time.
Every oven heats a little differently. I recommend doing a test batch of 1-3 cookies to test the baking time for a perfectly baked cookie before baking the remaining dough.
Cookies.
Cookies are perfectly baked when the edges are set and the centers are no longer glossy.
Cooling Rack.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Kitchen Scale. I use this for accuracy in measuring and it's a lifesaver when it comes to consistent baking
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least 2 cooling racks
- Mixing Bowls. A Large Mixing Bowl for mixing ingredients and small and medium mixing bowls for other ingredients
- Cookie Sheet. Most recipes will take 2 batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line the Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.
- Cookie Scoop. A small #60 Cookie Scoop or a Medium Cookie Scoop #50 are great choices for uniform drops of cookie dough.
- Storage Container. An Airtight Container to store cookies or a Ziploc Bag works great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with a silicone spatula are all helpful.
Substitutions
In this recipe feel free to use Vanilla Extract in place of Almond Extract.
You might also want to try this cookie recipe using White Chocolate Chips or a combination of White Chocolate Chips and Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips.
I have also found it's fun to use a red cherry chip chocolate chip in this recipe too.
TIP: Make sure Maraschino Cherries are drained and pat dry before chopping. Discard any extra juices that come off of cherries before adding to cookie dough.
Have you tried this Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe?
Let me know what you think of this recipe! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how great your cookies turned out! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you think of these cookies. It really does help!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Sprinkle Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Blueberry Pie Cookies
- Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
- Cranberry Bars
- Peppermint Patties Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Salted Caramel Bars
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Cold
- ½ cup Brown Sugar 103g
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar 50g
- 1 Egg Large
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 4 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1½ cups All Purpose Flour 180g
- 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips about 6 ounces
- ½ cup Maraschino Cherries chopped and drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F Degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet and set aside
- Cut cold butter into cubes and mix with Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer on low.
- Mix ingredients until fully combined. This will take a few minutes. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer and cream ingredients together.
- Add Egg and Almond Extract and cream until light and fluffy. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, and Cornstarch to the butter mixture and fully combine.
- Slice Maraschino Cherries into 4-6 pieces and drain off excess liquid. Blot on a paper towel or napkin to remove excess liquid.
- Hand stir the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and the Maraschino Cherry pieces into cookie dough.
- Using a size #24 Cookie Scoop. Scoop cookie dough and place on baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven set to 350 F Degrees for 8-9 minutes or until edges are set.
- Optional. Press additional chocolate chips on top for visual appeal.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage
- Storage: Store cookies once they have cooled to room temperature in an airtight container for 5-7 days. These cookies are best enjoyed within 2-3 days though.
- Freezing: Freeze your cherry chocolate chip cookies for up to 3 months. Store them in a sealed container, and place a piece of parchment paper between each cookie to prevent sticking.
Michelle Woods
Hi Rebecca,
Are these cookies chewy or crispy?
Thanks - Michelle
Rebecca Johnston
Hi Michelle, Cherry Chocolate Chip cookies are a soft cookie. They are not crispy at all, unless you over bake them. 😉
Rebecca Johnston
I loved how soft these cookies turned out. Make sure to really dry the cherries as I find it really does soften up the cookie dough. However, the taste is spectacular and oh so good!
Joanne
Love this recipe. I didn't have maraschino cherries, so I used glazed ones, that I had.