Chocolate Maraschino Cherry Cookies are soft, brownie-like slice and bake cookies studded with sweet maraschino cherries, pistachios, and white chocolate. Perfect sweet treat for your Christmas cookie trays, holiday season gift giving, and Valentine's Day.
Try Gingerbread Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting, Easy Million Dollar Bars, and BIG Oatmeal Craisin Cookies next!
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Chocolate maraschino cherry cookies are pretty and festive with a soft texture and the most delicious combination of flavors and textures.
These soft, brownie-like cookies are intensely chocolatey and filled with chewy chopped cherries, crunchy roasted pistachios, and sweet white chocolate. And so easy to make. Just roll the dough into logs and freeze until you're ready to bake cookies!
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Ingredients
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients for this chocolate maraschino cherry cookies recipe.
Dark cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder for the deep dark intense color and flavor. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder also works.
Unsalted butter. Use softened room temperature butter so it will blend well with the rest of the ingredients.
Brown sugar. I love dark brown sugar because it adds rich molasses flavor. Light brown sugar also works.
Room temperature egg. Let the egg come to room temperature -- or place it in warm water for about 10 minutes. If you add a cold egg to warm ingredients, it can curdle the batter.
Maraschino cherries. Maraschino cherries add ruby red color and sweet cherry flavor to the bitter chocolate. There's even a little almond extract in the maraschino cherry juice, so you'll notice that flavor and fragrance, as well.
Chopped pistachios. Roasted, salted pistachios are mild, sweet, and nutty -- and a pretty green color.
Chopped white chocolate. I like the stunning color contrast and flavor combo of white chocolate with cherries and pistachios. I use a Ghirardelli white chocolate bar, but you can also chop white chocolate chips into smaller pieces. Miniature chocolate chips will also taste delicious, you just won't be able to see them as well.
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.
How to Make Chocolate Maraschino Cookies
Step 1: In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract scraping down the side of the bowl as you go.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk or sift all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the cherries, pistachios, and white chocolate to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Step 3: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
Be careful not to overmix.
Step 4: Divide dough into thirds. Place one third of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Use wet fingers to shape dough into a log.
Fold parchment paper over the log and use your hands or the flat edge of a spatula to shape the dough into a round log, about 1 ½ to 2 inches around by 6 to 8 inches long.
Step 5: Slice the cookie dough with a very sharp knife into ½" thick slices. Place slices onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Work with one dough log at a time, keep the others in the freezer.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the sheet pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
To Make White Chocolate Dipped Cookies
Step 1: Melt white chocolate and shortening in the microwave.
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 a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 2: 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.
Expert Tips
- The flat edge of a wooden spatula works great for shaping the dough in parchment paper into a round log.
- 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.
Recipe FAQs
You can store cherry chocolate cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or a week in the fridge.
Yes! Freeze the baked cookies tightly wrapped in plastic in a freezer-safe container for a couple of months.
Yes. Keep the cookie dough wrapped in parchment. Wrap the logs in a double layer of plastic and a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze the log of homemade cherry cookie dough for up to 2 months.
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.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Maraschino 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.
Notes
- Chop the pistachios and white chocolate into small pieces to make slicing the frozen logs of cookie dough easier
- Use parchment paper to roll the logs of cookie dough. It's firmer than wax paper or plastic wrap, 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 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 on the counter, and let them freeze the rest of the way.
- Use a very sharp knife to slice the cookie dough.
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