Chocolate Cherry Cookies are soft, brownie-like slice and bake cookies studded with sweet maraschino cherries, pistachios, and white chocolate. Perfect for your Christmas cookie trays, holiday season gift giving, and Valentine's Day.
Chocolate maraschino cherry cookies are pretty, festive, and absolutely delicious during the holidays -- or really any time of year.
The soft, tender cookies are intensely chocolatey and filled with chewy chopped cherries, crunchy roasted pistachios, and sweet white chocolate. The dough is easy to make with simple ingredients you roll into logs and store in the freezer until you're ready to bake cookies!
To make your chocolate cherry slice and bake cookies extra delicious, dip them in melted white chocolate and decorate them with mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, festive sugars, or sprinkles.
They look super cute on a holiday goodie tray and make great gifts for friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
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Ingredients
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients for this chocolate cherry cookies recipe.
Dark cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder in this recipe because it has a deep dark intense color and flavor. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder also works.
Room temperature butter. Use softened butter so it will blend well with the rest of the ingredients.
Brown sugar. I always use dark brown sugar because I love the deep molasses flavor. You can also use light brown sugar.
Room temperature egg. Let the egg come to room temperature. If you add a cold egg to warm ingredients, it can curdle the batter.
Pro Tip: If you forget to take your egg out of the fridge, drop it in a cup of warm water for about 10 minutes.
Maraschino cherries. Maraschino cherries add ruby red color and sweet contrasting flavor to the bitter chocolate. There's even a little almond extract in most commercial maraschino cherries, so you'll notice that almond flavor and fragrance, as well.
Chopped pistachios. Roasted, salted pistachios are mild, sweet, and nutty -- and a pretty green color.
Chopped white chocolate. I used a Ghirardelli white chocolate bar. You can also chop up white chocolate chips into smaller pieces. Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips also taste delicious, but the white chocolate offers a stunning contrasting color and pairs nicely with cherries and pistachios.
Optional Ingredients for Decorating
White chocolate. If possible, use a premium brand of white chocolate for melting and dipping the cookies. White chocolate chips don't melt quite as smoothly, but they will work.
Shortening. I prefer to use shortening for thinning melted chocolate, but you can also use coconut oil or vegetable oil.
Chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, colored sugars, sprinkles. Sprinkle on your favorite doo-dads while the melted chocolate is still wet.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, scraping down the side of the bowl as you go.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk or sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. Add the cherries, pistachios, and white chocolate to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Shape Slice and Bake Cookie Dough Into Round Logs
Divide the cookie dough into thirds. Place one third of the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use wet fingers to roughly shape dough into a log.
Fold the parchment paper over the log and use your hands to continue to shape the dough into a round log that is about 1 ½ to 2 inches around by 6 to 8 inches long.
I've found that using a flat edge of a wooden spatula works great for shaping the dough into a round log.
I don't recommend wrapping the dough in plastic wrap because it's too flimsy to support the rolled dough while you transport it and store it in the freezer. Wax paper is okay, but easily tears.
Freeze the Cookie Dough
Roll the dough up in the parchment paper and place the logs in the freezer. Try to nestle them into something that will help support their round shape while they freeze, like a cut-open paper towel tube or a bag of rice.
If your dough logs have flat edges, freeze the logs slightly to let them firm up a bit more, roll out any flat edges, then let them freeze the rest of the way.
Or just embrace whatever shape you've got going on. I mean, who said they have to be round, anyway??
Freeze the dough for at least 4 hours. I freeze mine overnight.
Time to Bake!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Use a very sharp knife to slice the cookie dough into ½" thick slices.
Place the cookies on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny. 9 minutes is the perfect time in my oven for these little 1 ½" round coins, but yours may differ.
Work with one log of dough at a time, keeping the others in the freezer until it's time to bake them.
Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the sheet pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Decorate the Cookies
Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the chopped white chocolate and shortening into a small bowl that's microwave-safe. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to heat and stir in 10-second increments until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Dip each cookie into the white chocolate and use a fork to remove any excess chocolate from the bottom of the cookie.
Place the cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, colored sugars, or sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.
Chill the cookies until the chocolate has set.
Storage & Freezing
Store cherry chocolate cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or a week in the fridge.
Freeze baked cookies for a couple of months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Store frozen cookie dough logs (wrapped in plastic) for up to 2 months.
Expert Tips
- Quarter the maraschino cherries and pat them dry with a paper towel to keep from adding too much moisture to the cookies
- Chop the pistachios and white chocolate into small pieces to make slicing the frozen logs of cookie dough easier
- Use parchment paper instead of wax paper or plastic wrap to roll the logs of cookie dough. It's firmer and makes transporting and storing much easier.
- To keep the logs of cookie dough round, store them in a cut-open paper towel tube in the freezer or rest them on something that will support the shape, like a bag of rice.
- If your dough logs have flat edges after you roll them, let them freeze slightly to let them firm up a bit, roll out any flat edges, then let them freeze the rest of the way.
- Use a very sharp knife to slice the cookie dough.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You you can freeze the log of homemade cherry cookie dough as well as the baked cookies for up to a couple of months.
Stir in a little vegetable shortening or vegetable oil to thin the chocolate for dipping.
Keep the logs frozen until ready to use. Use a sharp knife, place your palm on top, and slowly and evenly press down. This will help avoid splintering the dough.
Recipe Essentials
This little hand mixer is my buddy in the kitchen. It stands up to the firmest cookie dough and has a whisk attachment for whipping cream and egg whites.
Parchment paper sheets are handy to have for lining cookie sheets and rolling up cookie dough. The sheets are way easier to work with than the rolls in the grocery store.
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Chocolate Cherry Cookies (Slice & Bake)
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, room temperature 1 stick
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup maraschino cherries, quartered pat dry with paper towels
- ⅓ cup chopped white chocolate
- ⅓ cup chopped pistachios
For Dipping & Decorating, optional
- 1 ½ cups chopped white chocolate
- 1 ½ teaspoons shortening
- chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, decorative sugar, sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk or sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. Stir in the cherries, ⅓ cup chopped white chocolate, and chopped pistachios.
- On low speed, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the dough in thirds. Place one third of the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use wet fingers to roughly shape the dough into a log. Fold the parchment paper over the log and use it to roll the dough into a 1 ½ to 2-inch by 6 to 8-inch log. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Freeze the dough logs for at least 4 hours. I freeze mine overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Slice the frozen dough into ½-inch thick slices. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny. Be careful not to overbake; check them early.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking pan for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Decorate the Cookies
- Place 1 ½ cups chopped white chocolate and the shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to heat and stir in 10-second increments until it is completely melted and smooth.
- Working quickly, dip each cookie into the white chocolate. Use a fork to remove drips from the bottom of the cookie and place it on parchment. Reheat the chocolate in the microwave, as necessary.
- Decorate cookies with mini chips, chopped nuts, sugars, and sprinkles while the white chocolate is still wet.
- Chill the cookies until the chocolate has set.
Storage & Freezing
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or a week in the fridge.
- Freeze baked cookies for a couple of months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Freeze cookie dough logs (wrapped in plastic) for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Chop the pistachios and white chocolate into small pieces to make slicing the frozen logs of cookie dough easier
- Quarter the maraschino cherries and pat them dry with paper towels
- Use parchment paper to roll the logs of cookie dough. It's firmer, will hold the round shape better, and makes transporting and storing much easier.
- To keep the logs of cookie dough round, store them in a cut-open paper towel tube in the freezer or rest them on something that will support the shape, like a bag of rice.
- If your dough logs have flat edges after you roll them, freeze the logs slightly to let them firm up a bit, roll out any flat edges, and let them freeze the rest of the way.
- Use a very sharp knife to slice the cookie dough.
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