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Soft and chewy, these Chocolate Cherry Cookies feature a rich chocolate cookie with a maraschino cherry in the center, topped with a chocolate drizzle.
A decadent cookie that’s super simple to make. Perfect for the holidays, Valentine’s Day or just because.
If you’re a fan of chocolate-covered cherries, these Chocolate Cherry Cookies may become your new favorite.
With an intense dark chocolate flavored cookie, maraschino cherry, and a chocolate drizzle over the top, these have all the elements of a chocolate covered cherry – just in cookie form!
I love serving these cookies around the holidays, as the bright red cherry in the center of each cookie gives them some holiday cheer. They look great on a holiday cookie tray, along with Pistachio Cookies!
Plus, everyone raves about them and always assumes they were far more difficult to make than they actually were.
Why You’ll Love These
There’s truly so much to love about these cookies.
- Rich chocolatey flavor. Made with Dutch processed cocoa powder, these are truly the ultimate chocolate cookie with a deep, rich chocolate flavor. Not to mention the rich chocolate ganache drizzle topping!
- Lots of cherry flavor too! These cookies don’t just have juicy maraschino cherries in the center – they’re also made with cherry juice, for a light flavor throughout the cookie.
- Soft & chewy. These cookies have the best texture – slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in the center.
- Easy to make! This definitely falls into the “easy cookie recipe” category as the dough requires no chilling and comes together in just a few minutes.
Recipe Ingredients
These rich chocolate cookies are made with maraschino cherries, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and just a few additional ingredients. See the recipe card for measurements.
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch processed cocoa powder – See notes below.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cornstarch – Helps achieve the soft, chewy texture.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar & brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Maraschino cherries – You’ll also want to reserve 1 tablespoon of the cherry juice for the cookies.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Melted to drizzle over the top of these chocolate covered cherry cookies.
Dutch Processed vs
Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Is Dutch processed cocoa powder the same as natural unsweetened cocoa powder? This is a question I often receive, especially when I specifically note one or the other in a recipe – like I did above for these chocolate cherry cookies.
The answer is that, while similar, Dutch processed cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder are different. Keep reading below.
Unsweetened natural cocoa is just the powdered form of unsweetened chocolate. Dutch processed cocoa powder, on the other hand, is treated with an alkalizing agent.
So what does that mean for baked goods? In general, natural cocoa has a more mild, more sweet chocolate flavor while Dutch processed cocoa gives more of a dark chocolate flavor, with a deeper, richer taste.
In the case of these chocolate cherry cookies, we use Dutch processed cocoa to give these cookies an intense, rich chocolate flavor.
How to Make Chocolate Cherry Cookies
These chocolate covered cherry cookies may taste like a decadent treat but the truth is that they’re no harder to make than any other cookie recipe!
Dry the cherries. Place 24 maraschino cherries on a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess juice. Do not discard the juice, you’ll need 1 tablespoon for the dough.
Combine the dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Cream the butter. In a separate bowl, beat room temperature butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and cherry juice to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix again with hand mixer.
Add the dry ingredients. Slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
Form the cookies. Use a cookie scoop to form 2 tablespoon-sized dough balls on the baking sheet for regular cookies or portion the dough into 1/4 cup per cookie for “crumbl sized cookies”.
Bake. Place regular cookies 3 inches apart on the baking sheet or large cookies 4-5 inches apart. Make an indent in the center of the cookies with your thumb and place a cherry in the center.
Bake regular cookies for 12-13 minutes and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Large cookies will need to bake 15 minutes and cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Add the chocolate drizzle. Melt chocolate chips over low heat or in a microwave safe bowl for 3 minutes at 50% power. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and drizzle the chocolate over each cookie.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips for making the best chocolate cherry cookies.
- Do not overmix. As with pretty much any cookies, one of the secrets to soft, chewy cookies is to not overmix the dough. Stir just until the dry ingredients are combined.
- Leave space on the cookie sheet. These cherry chocolate chip cookies will spread a bit as they bake, so be sure to leave plenty of space for them on the cookie sheet – at least 3 inches for regular cookies and 4-5 inches for “crumbl-sized” cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet. These cookies are still quite soft when they come out of the oven, so it’s important to allow them to cool on the baking sheet first. They’ll continue to cook for a few minutes and waiting helps prevent them from crumbling when you move them to wire racks.
- Stir the chocolate frequently. To avoid scorching the chocolate, be sure to stir it every minute or so.
How to Store
These chocolate cherry cookies can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge. At room temperature, they’ll last for 3 days but in the fridge, they’ll stay fresh for up to 6. In either case, keep them in an airtight container. You may want to use parchment paper between layers.
Can I Freeze Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies?
Yes, these cookies can be frozen. However, since you have the soft chocolate drizzle on top, I recommend flash-freezing them in a single layer on a baking sheet first.
Once frozen, transfer to a regular freezer-safe container or ziploc freezer bags. Layer parchment paper between layers. Freeze for up to 3 months then thaw on the counter or in the fridge before enjoying.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Apple Pie Cookies
- M&M Cookies
- Reese’s Cup Cookies
- Maraschino Cherry Cookies
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Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup dutch processed cocoa powder, not natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 container maraschino cherries, 1 tbsp cherry juice
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, for melting
Instructions
- Place 24 maraschino cherries on a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess juice. Do not discard the juice, you'll need 1 tablespoon for the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, dutch processed cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cornstarch.
- In a separate mixing bowl cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together with a mixer on medium speed for, 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and 1 tbsp juice from the maraschino cherries, mix again.
- Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined.
- For regular sized cookies, use a cookie scoop to drop 2 tablespoon sized dough balls on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. You can also use a 1/4 cup to portion out the dough. Divide the dough ball in half and you get two portions that are each about 2 tablespoons. For large “crumbl sized cookies” use a 1/4 cup of dough per cookie.
- For regular sized cookies, place the cookies 3 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet. Use your thumb to make an indent in the middle of the dough and press a maraschino cherry into the cookie. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
- For large “crumbl sized cookies”, place the cookies 4-5 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet. Use your thumb to make an indent in the middle of the dough and press a maraschino cherry into the cookie. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 20 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
- Allow the cookies to cool before adding the chocolate drizzle. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 3 minutes on 50% power, stirring after each minute. Continue to microwave until fully melted. Transfer the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off. Drizzle chocolate over each cookie.
These are amazing!Â
Holy cow, these are amazing. Fudged and chocolately. Definitely a repeater for Christmas (or anytime) next year!  I did make the dough a day before  and refrigerated overnight to save myself time (big baking day).Â
These cookies are absolutely amazing!
Chocolatey & pretty yummy. I thought they were a bit dry but I might have cooked too long. It’s so hard to tell when you can’t see them browning.Â
I made them for valentine’s. I considered chopping cherries to put on top or mix in next time, my husband likes even distribution of flavors.  Thank you for recipe.Â