These chocolate covered cherry cookies have a soft chocolate cookie base and a thumbprint of chocolate and a maraschino cherry!
Quick Tips
- These cookies are best when they are small, so I recommend rolling the dough into small 1-inch balls
- These bake quickly, so remove them from the oven the second you see cracking on top of the cookies (typically after about 8 minutes)
- Drain the maraschino cherries, then pour them on to a paper towel to drain any excess liquid off the cherries
- When assembling the cookies, pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut a small tip – use that to drizzle the chocolate over the completed cookies
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
- Medium mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Silicone spatula
- Spoon
- Cookie sheet(s)
- Piping bag (optional)
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter: salted butter is OK too, just decrease added salt to ½ teaspoon
- Light brown sugar: dark brown sugar is OK too
- Milk: any variety of white milk is OK
- Semi-sweet chocolate: melted, chocolate chips or baking chocolate works for this! You could also use dark or milk chocolate
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: I like using half unsweetened cocoa powder and half dutch process cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt: decrease to ½ teaspoon if using salted butter
- Maraschino cherries: drained, stemless (like these)
Like these chocolate covered cherry cookies? Give these chocolate cookie recipes a try too!
- Triple Chocolate Peppermint Filled Cookies
- Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Caramel Toffee Cookies
How to make chocolate covered cherry cookies
These chocolate covered cherry cookies are super easy to make and can be broken down into two simple steps!
- Make chocolate cookies
- Assemble the cookies
How to make the chocolate cookies
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, using the convection bake setting if you have it. If using convection bake, the oven should be at 325 degrees.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer beat softened butter and brown sugar on high for 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
Add in milk, egg, and melted chocolate. Mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
In separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2-3 portions, mixing after each addition.
Next, roll the dough into small 1-inch dough balls and place them on a well-greased cookie sheet (you can also line the cookie sheet with parchment paper). Each cookie should be at least 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops just begin to crack. I recommend checking them at 6-7 minutes of baking since oven times can vary.
Remove them from the oven and use a teaspoon measuring spoon to add a ‘thumbprint’ in each cookie. Do this immediately when they come out of the oven.
How to assemble the cookies
Drain the maraschino cherries and pour them onto some paper towels to dab off any excess liquid.
Allow the chocolate cookies to cool to room temperature, then spoon a small amount of chocolate (about ½ a teaspoon) into the thumbprint of about 10 cookies.
Place one maraschino cherry on top of the melted chocolate (the chocolate acts as a ‘glue’ for the cherry). This is pictured below.
Repeat the above steps, spooning the melted chocolate into about 10 cookies at a time, then adding maraschino cherries until you have covered each cookie.
Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle over the top of each cookie. Place the chocolate in a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut a very thin tip to drizzle the chocolate for best results.
Try these other delicious cookie recipes!
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
- Coffee Cake Cookies
- Andes Mint Thumbprint Cookies
- Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
- medium mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- piping bag (optional)
- silicone spatula
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
For the chocolate cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate (melted), 2 ounces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the cookie topping
- 50 maraschino cherries (stemless)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate melted, 4 ounces
Instructions
To make the chocolate cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (use convection bake if you have it).
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer beat softened butter and brown sugar on high for 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Add in milk, egg, and melted chocolate. Mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- In separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt).
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 2-3 portions. Mix until combined, scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Roll the dough into small 1-inch dough balls and place them on a well-greased cookie sheet (you can also line the cookie sheet with parchment paper). Each cookie should be at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the top of the cookies just begins to crack.
- Remove them from the oven and use a teaspoon measuring spoon to add a 'thumbprint' in each cookie. Do this immediately when they come out of the oven.
To assemble the cookies
- Drain the maraschino cherries and pour them onto some paper towels to dab off any excess liquid.
- Allow the chocolate cookies to cool to room temperature, then spoon a small amount of chocolate (about ½ a teaspoon) into the thumbprint of about 10 cookies.
- Place one maraschino cherry on top of the melted chocolate (the chocolate acts as a 'glue' for the cherry).
- Repeat the above steps, spooning the melted chocolate into about 10 cookies at a time, then adding maraschino cherries until you have covered each cookie.
- Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle over the top of each cookie. Place the chocolate in a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut a very thin tip to drizzle the chocolate for best results.
- Allow the chocolate to set, then enjoy!
Carol S. Schaefer says
There is no clarification on the melted chocolate for assembling and drizzling. It only says to add the melted chocolate for the cookie dough.
Jackie says
there is a whole section on how to assemble the cookie where it says what to do with the additional melted chocolate for assembling. Did you see that?
Julie says
Can these be made ahead of time and frozen?
Jackie says
I have not tried freezing them myself, but it should work! There’s a chance of the cherry becoming soggy.
C DEITRICK says
You can freeze the cookies but don’t add the cherries until they’ve thawed.