Perfectly chocolatey and indulgent, these Chocolate Cherry Cookies are one of my favorite cookies to make for the Holidays and for Valentine's Day!
Made with a fudgy chocolate and cherry-flavored cookie base, juicy maraschino cherries in the middle, and a rich chocolate ganache with cherry juice on top, they're bursting with flavor!
Chocolate Cherry Cookies have the perfect combination of rich chocolate and sweet but tart cherries.
With a fudgy texture and a deliciously indulgent flavor, they're sure to be a huge hit at your next event!
They're perfect cookies for movie nights, they make a great addition to your holiday cookie trays, or as a treat for your chocolate lover on Valentine's Day.
Sometimes I serve them warm for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side!
They will become your favorite cookies in no time, they're sure to satisfy your sweet tooth from first bite.
With a chocolatey cookie base made with cocoa powder and cherry juice, as well as the chocolate cherry ganache drizzled on top.
If you love these delicious chocolate cherry cookies, you may also love my Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pineapple Upside Down Cookies, Raspberry Lemon Cookies, and these Strawberry Sugar Cookies!
Ingredients for Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Egg, Maraschino Cherry Juice, Heavy Cream
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Powder, Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, Salt
Extras. Maraschino Cherries, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (or Milk Chocolate Chips)
How to Make Chocolate Cookies with a Cherry On Top
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper or use Silicone Mats. Set aside.
Gather Ingredients and measure using a kitchen scale for more accurate and consistent measurements. TIP: Drain the cherries, reserving juice to use in the cookies and topping, then allow the cherries to dry out a little before using them. This helps keep the cookies more firm while baking.
Place Maraschino Cherries on a paper towel while mixing the cookie ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine softened Butter with Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar. Mix on medium speed until combined.
Add the Egg and Maraschino Cherry Juice and cream for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure you're using all the ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients of All-Purpose Flour, Dutch Process Cocoa, and Baking Powder a little at a time until fully combined.
You can combine the dry ingredients separately if you prefer, and add the flour mixture in gradually.
Use a size #24 cookie scoop, or about 3 tablespoons to scoop cookie dough balls and place them on your prepared baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
Using the back of a measuring teaspoon or the back of the cookie scoop coated in sugar, press an indentation into the cookie dough. The sugar helps the spoon not stick and leaves a nice well in the cookie dough for baking.
Then, place 1 Maraschino Cherry in the center of each cookie.
Baking the Perfect Cookie
Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 Degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
Remember that every oven bakes a little bit differently. It's best to do a test batch with one or two cookies first to test the baking time before baking an entire batch.
Remove baked cookies from oven when edges are set and the center is no longer glossy.
Allow your cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Cookies will continue to bake while cooling on hot baking sheet.
Chocolate Drizzle
In a separate small bowl, combine melted chocolate with heavy cream and maraschino cherry juice and combine until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow them to set before storing.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Store these cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 7 days once they have fully set. They are best if enjoyed within 2-3 days.
Freezing: Cookies can be stored in a sealed container or Ziploc bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper or plastic wrap between each cookie to prevent them from sticking together. It's best to freeze the cookie bases on their own, and make the drizzle fresh to serve when you're ready.
Substitutions & Variations
- Butter. I use salted butter in my recipes. If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to the cookie dough to enhance the flavors.
- Add-ins. You can add in some milk chooclate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks for extra sweetness, or even some caramel chips!
- Cocoa Powder. Use Dutch Process Cocoa Powder for the best results here as it has a much stronger chocolatey flavor than regular cocoa powder.
- Other flavors. You can use almond extract or vanilla extract in these cookies or the drizzle instead of cherry juice if you prefer a milder cherry flavor.
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center and crisp edges, and is it chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time, here are some pro tips.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Butter should be softened by allowing it to sit on the counter for an hour prior to mixing cookie dough. It should still be chilled but will allow a finger impression when pressed. Butter that is too soft has become mush and won't mix as well.
Baking with eggs that are at room temperature also helps when mixing cookie dough. The ingredients will cream together more easily, creating a lighter cookie overall!
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 use an ungreased cookie sheet if you prefer. I like to use Parchment Paper to line baking sheets or a Silicone Mat for easy 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 two 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 two 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.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Have you tried these Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Cherries?
Let me know what you think of these decadent cookies! 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 Easy Recipes for Berry Cookies
- Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies with Almond Glaze
- Blueberry Pie Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies
- Strawberry Lemonade Bars
- Cranberry Bars
- Strawberry and Cream Nestle Magic Bars
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mini Blueberry Pie Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- ⅔ cup Butter Softened
- ½ cup Granulated White Sugar 100g
- ½ cup Brown Sugar 106g
- 1 Egg Large
- 1 teaspoon Maraschino Cherry Juice
- 1½ cups All-Purpose Flour 180g
- ⅓ cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder 35g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Maraschino Cherries
Chocolate Cherry Drizzle
- ½ cup Chocolate Chips
- 1 tablespoon Maraschino Cherry Juice
- 2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper or use Silicone Mats. Set aside.
- Gather the ingredients and measure them using a kitchen scale for more accurate and consistent measurements.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer combine Butter with Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add Egg and Maraschino Cherry Juice and cream for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add dry ingredients of All-Purpose Flour, Dutch Process Cocoa, and Baking Powder a little at a time until fully combined.
- Use a size #24 cookie scoop. Scoop cookie dough and place cookie dough on parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Using the back of a teaspoon, press an indentation into cookie dough and place 1 Maraschino Cherry in well.
- Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 Degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven when edges are set and the center is no longer glossy.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a separate bowl combine melted Chocolate with Heavy Cream and Maraschino Cherry Juice and combine until smooth.
- Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow to set before storing.
Notes
- Storage: Store these cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 7 days once they have fully set. They are best if enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Freezing: Cookies can be stored in a sealed container or Ziploc bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper or plastic wrap between each cookie to prevent them from sticking together. It's best to freeze the cookie bases on their own, and make the drizzle fresh to serve when you're ready.
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Submit a Comment