Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies | Dessert Now Dinner Later (2024)

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These pink cherry chocolate chip cookies are loaded with maraschino cherries and chocolate. A fun flavor for a Christmas cookie exchange, Valentine’s Day, or any day!

Chocolate and cherry go together like peanut butter and jelly. It’s commonly found in Black Forest Cake. But it’s also delicious in these chocolate chip cherry bars, these chocolate cherry brownies, or in a breakfast danish like this chocolate cherry braid. You’ll love the chocolate cherry combination in these cookies as well!

Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

With Christmas coming up I wanted a fun and unique holiday cookie idea. Chocolate and cherry is such a classic combo that I knew I wanted to make it into a cookie.

Because I wanted the cookies to have a nice pink/red hue to them, I decided I should make a cookie that just uses granulated sugar instead of brown sugar. So I grabbed my recipe for no roll sugar cookies, added maraschino cherries and chocolate chips, and got — Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Recipe Tweaks and Adjustments

The best part of my old sugar cookie recipe is that it uses almond extract. And if you’re an avid baker, you know that almond extract and cherries go well together. The almond extract enhances the cherry flavor and you only need a small amount.

Baking has also evolved quite a bit since I posted that sugar cookie recipe in 2012. It uses shortening, and nowadays people just don’t like that. So I switched to all butter and it still worked great.

These chocolate chip cherry cookies are soft, thick, and full of cherries and chocolate. They are also slightly puffy. Almost like a cross between a muffin-top and a regular cookie. The texture is as unique as the flavor.

Ingredients

For these cherry chocolate chip cookies you will need:

• Butter – Unsalted or salted. Adjust additional salt, if needed.
• Granulated Sugar – To add sweetness, but not too sweet.
• Egg – To bind and lift the cookie dough.
• Vanilla Extract – For added flavor.
• Almond Extract – To enhance the cherry flavor.
• Pink Food Coloring – Optional, but fun. I prefer gel over liquid food coloring.
• All-Purpose Flour – For structure.
• Baking Powder – Makes the cookie rise and have a tender crumb.
• Salt – To enhance the taste.
• Chocolate Chips – Semi-sweet chocolate is preferred due to the sweet nature of the cherries, but if you prefer milk chocolate, that works too.
• Maraschino Cherries – Make sure to drain and pat the cherries with a paper towel. Do this before and after chopping them to introduce as little moisture to the dough as possible.

Making the Cookie Dough

These cherry chocolate chip cookies are easy to make. Simply:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, extracts, and food coloring. Mix together.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
3. Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped maraschino cherries.

Baking and Storing

• Use a cookie scoop (I use a #30 scoop; about 2 Tablespoons) to scoop dough balls onto a parchment or silicone lined sheet tray about 2 to 3-inches apart.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-13 minutes or until the bottom and edges start to brown.
• Allow cookies to rest on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store cookies stacked directly on top of each other in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3-5 days.

Can I freeze these cherry chocolate chip cookies?

These chocolate cherry cookies are slightly more tender and prone to cracking/breaking due to the soft texture. Baked cookies would need to be placed flat on a cookie sheet, with parchment paper between layers, and cookies stacked directly on top of each other. Then double wrap the pan and freeze the cookies.

Freezing the cookie dough itself should be no problem. Just be sure to bake the cookies from frozen and add a few extra minutes to the bake time.

More Christmas Cookies To Try

• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Meltaway Cookies
• Avalanche Cookies (no-bake)
• Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe
• Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
• Powdered Sugar Cookies
• Pecan Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkles
• Ginger Cookies
• Oatmeal Florentine Cookies

If You Make This Recipe, Please Rate and Review it in the Comments Below. THANKS!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Yield: 16-18 cookies

Soft, sweet cookies with maraschino cherries and chocolate chips.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1-2 drops pink food coloring (a little goes a long way)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line sheet trays with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, extracts, and food coloring. Mix together and scrape bowl.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped maraschino cherries.
5. Use a cookie scoop (I use a #30 scoop; about 2 Tablespoons) to scoop dough balls onto prepared sheet trays about 2 to 3-inches apart. (Can press extra chocolate chips on top, if desired.)
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-13 minutes or until the bottom and edges start to brown.
7. Allow cookies to rest on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Store cookies stacked directly on top of each other in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3-5 days.

Notes

• Drain and pat the maraschino cherries with paper towels before and after chopping. This helps minimize extra liquid entering the cookie dough, which can lead to a cakey texture.
• A 10-16oz jar of maraschino cherries is enough for this recipe.
• If dough still seems very wet and sticky you can add 2 Tablespoons more flour OR refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes before scooping and baking.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 

  Aluminum Half Sheet Tray (2 Pack)

• 

  Silicone Baking Mat

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  #30 Cookie Scoop

• 

  Cooling Racks

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 17Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 128Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 103mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 2g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and is an estimation only.

See Also

White Chocolate Chip Cherry Shortbread Cookies recipeCherry Surprise Dessert - Deliciously SeasonedChocolate Chip Cherry BarsCherry Almond Cookies {NO CHILL} ~ two sugar bugs

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