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While these fudgy cookies are not the traditional cookie for many, they’re definitely unique! The chocolate dough on the bottom and chocolate ganache on top trap the cherry in the center of the cookie, creating a gooey, super-flavorful bite. There’s nothing more Christmas than these cookies!
These are not your ordinary chocolate cookies.
The holidays give us so many opportunities to take plates (or a cake stand) of goodies to parties and family get-togethers. I never want you to fall into the rut of baking the same thing repeatedly. That’s why I’m here to help, giving you my favorite unique recipes that I simply love to bake. Besides, these desserts always seem to impress.
With the wild success of my pecan tassies recipe, I’m happy to present another Christmastime treat: my family’s favorite chocolate-covered cherry cookies! These cookies are not only delectable and mouthwatering but are usually so unique that everyone will ask you for the recipe.
This is such a unique cookie, which makes them one of my favorites. Don’t be afraid of the odd ingredient of a maraschino cherry. The flavors come together in a seasonally classic way that you’ll surely love!
I love to take these to cookie swaps and gatherings because no one else will make them, but everyone will want the recipe!
More Christmas cookies
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Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 10-oz jar Maraschino cherries
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. The mixture will be light and fluffy and well combined. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until it is smooth.8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- To the wet ingredients, slowly add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined. The dough will be dry and almost crumbly.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, ¼ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda
- Using a cookie scoop, make 1 tablespoon (size 00) balls out of the dough, roll them in sanding or white granulated sugar, and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Drain one 10-ounce jar of Maraschino cherries. Reserve the juice and set it aside for later. Pat cherries until very dry. If cherries are extra-large, cut them in half. Press a cherry into the center of each dough ball. Do not be afraid to press firmly.1 10-oz jar Maraschino cherries
- Place in the preheated 350°F oven and bake until the cookies are set, 10-12 minutes. Once the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes and then frost while warm.
- While the cookies are baking, heat the heavy cream until it begins to simmer. Once it is simmering, pour the cream over the chocolate chips. Allow the cream to melt the chocolate for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the chocolate is melting, slowly stir the mixture until it is smooth. Once the chocolate is smooth, add 1 tbsp of the reserved cherry juice. Note: As the chocolate cools, it will solidify. To soften, simply warm in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir.¾ cup heavy cream, ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Once the ganache has cooled slightly and thickened, spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of frosting onto the top of each baked warm cookie, covering the cherry. Sprinkle with sugar or decoration, if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
WOW!!! As Kaleb told the story of his dad loving chocolate covered cherries I was reminded of my own grandfather loving them. He would have adored this cookie. I did make one major adjustment… due to my gluten intolerance I used a gluten free measure for measure flour. I used a # 50 scoop and got 27 cookies. I couldn’t find Luxardo cherries in my area so I used jarred cocktail cherries. They had a natural cherry flavor and syrup. I did add a bit of the syrup to the ganache as well as 1/2 tsp of almond extract. When the ganache cooled enough on the cookies I sprinkled it with gold sanding/decorating sugar. These cookies are delicious!! Thanks for stirring up a childhood memory of my grandfather and for giving me another cookie to add to the Christmas baking list
sorry cookies werent the only thing we had…. we had the flank steak with chimichurri ….amongest tequila lime shrimp salad with southwest salad and your garlic mashed bacon potatoe casserole. all fantastic happy holidays
michele
these are soooo good as the rest of lyour recipes Kaleb Wonderful!!!!! and the pictures are wonderful thanks joel…..Hi KIP. Loving you!!! anyway this was my Christmas dinner we are so tired of the ham and turkey so we tried this and my family thought i turned into a chef. lol. Oh I served it with the tequila shrimp salad and the garlic cheese mashed potatoes….with chicken……thank you again much love to the family Mom etc…..michelle
I just tried these for the first time and they are delicious. The comments were helpful to me so I thought I’d add my own to help out people trying it for the first time. I did use the expensive recommended cherries and I believe it was worth it. They have such great flavor. The recipe says to make the ganache while the cookies are in the oven and that doesn’t work. It needs to sit for a bit and thicken. I measured all my ingredients, made the ganache (I used a 4 oz semi-sweet baking bar and chopped it into small pieces which ended up being 3/4 cup), laid the cherries out on paper towels, then started on the dough. After the chocolate sat and cooled a bit, I stirred in the cherry juice. I was able to get all the cookies on one large baking sheet (I got 32). Once the cookies cooled down some, I dabbed some of the thickened ganache on top and waited a couple of minutes. It started running down the side of the cookie. I waited a few more minutes and did another one. This time, it stayed in place. I recommend doing this so they look nicer. If they are too warm, it will run. My cookies turned out beautiful and taste divine. I’d give the actual cookies five stars, but giving the recipe four as I think doing it as written, the chocolate would be too runny and wouldn’t stay on the cookies. Also, baking chocolate works so much better than chocolate chips for melting. One more note.. I saw someone mention using half and half and that theirs was runny. You definitely must use heavy cream.
These are the best cookies I have ever made. So so good. These will be a favorite
For any occasion. Like a brownie topped with a cherry. Family loves them.