With holidays getting ready to begin, I am starting to go through my cookbooks and handwritten recipes to find some of my family’s favorite recipes. With my husband and me moving back to Kentucky not so long ago, we are likely going to be having a very cutback Christmas. Rather than buying inexpensive gifts that no one is likely to enjoy, I am going to be focusing on making handmade or homemade gifts that those we care about will enjoy. One recipe that is on the top of the list on the homemade variety is one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes – Cherry Chocolate Cookies.
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, our families look forward to the baked goods I bring to the table. I make a variety of homemade cakes, cookies, and other delicious treats, but there is always disappointment if I don’t bring Cherry Chocolate Cookies. These cookies have the most amazing rich, chocolatey, flavor, perfectly complemented by the sweet cherry in the middle. Along with tasting absolutely amazing, this Christmas Cookie recipe looks absolutely perfect right out of the oven, something I have found is very hard to do with most cookie recipes.
- 2½ Cups Salted Butter Softened
- 4 Cups White Sugar
- 4 Eggs Room Temperature
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 4 Cups All Purpose Flour Prefer King Arthur Flour
- 1½ Cups Baking Cocoa Milk or Dark Chocolate
- 12 oz Melted Semi Sweet Chocolate Use Quality Chocolate
- 16 oz Jar Maraschino Cherries Halved (prefer corn free)
- 4 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. When thoroughly mixed, add the eggs.
- Beat the vanilla into the butter mixture.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the butter mixture. This needs to be room temperature - aka liquid and warm to the touch, not burning hot from the microwave!
- Mix together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
- Slowly pour the dry ingredient mixture (1/2 cup at a time) into butter mixture. Very slowly beat it in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
- Scoop the cookies with a spoon on an ungreased cookie sheet. I use a spoon for mine. If you would like pretty cookies, roll them in a ball and then very slowly pat down. To prevent the cookies from sticking together, put them about 2-3 inches apart, depending on their size.
- In the center of each cookie, gently press in a cherry half. Don't put it in too far or it will collapse the cookie when it's finished baking.
- Bake the cookies for about 7 - 15 minutes, depending on their size. Finished cookies should have firm edges.
- Move to a wire rack to completely cool to keep the cookies looking pretty! This recipe makes about 6 dozen cookies!
To make this Christmas cookie recipe look like the perfect Christmas gift, I highly recommend purchasing some themed tins. I bought mine last year at Target for about $2 a piece. After putting a doily or wax paper on the bottom, fill the tin with about a dozen to two dozen Cherry Chocolate Cookies. If you arrange the cookies properly, they will look absolutely amazing when opened! With the sugar in these cookies, they should be able to last a week to week and a half – making them ideal for shipping.
Just as a fair warning, this is a very dangerous recipe. My husband was banned from taking these Cherry Chocolate Cookies to work since so many people couldn’t stop eating these cookies! All six dozen cookies were gone after half a day in his department. Even the people who normally aren’t crazy about chocolate fell in love with these cookies! If you think six dozen cookies is a bit too much for your family, cut all the ingredients in half to make only 3 dozen cookies. If your family is anything like mine though, expect them to disappear quickly! Oh, and don’t be surprised if this Christmas cookie recipe encourages Santa to leave a few extra gifts!
Disclosure: As a reminder, none of the writers at Budget Earth received compensation for any of the contests listed on this blog. All of the opinions on this blog are the opinions of said author and these opinions may differ from your own.
About Susan Bewley
Susan Bewley is a professional writer who has been writing content online & in print format for over 10 years. As well, she is an alumni of the University of Louisville with a Masters Degree in Special Education. When not working as an online business consultant or ghost writing, she can be found writing on Budget Earth, on her own novel, or working with various entities in the pet industry.
I make a chocolate cherry recipe very similar to this and it's good but I will try yours and compare!
oh yum Susan!!! I am so making these very soon! They look so delish and so easy!
Very easy and wonderful! The longest part is waiting for all of these cookies to bake since the recipes make so many!
That is the hardest part, waiting! But they do look good, great pictures! Thanks so much for sharing!
These look delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
How did I miss the chance to sign up for this. I love baking. These are so yummy. At least I can enter now. Great post. I want to host a cookie exchange so badly but not much people I know bake like I do.
My favortie recipe is chocolate chocolate chip cookie. Or my own Sooner Specials.
Oh, looks delicious! Pinned to my cookie recipe board!
I love chocolate chip!
OMG! Yummy! You always have the best recipes!!
Thanks! My husband is so excited I made these cookies early!
Those look delicious! My husband would really love them because he loves Cherries and chocolate together.
I'm more of a snickerdoodle girl. Those are my favorite.
These look SO good! I'll be making these for Christmas!
This recipe does look delicious. I am going to try it this season. My favorite cookie is the standard Oatmeal choc chip cookie…recipe courtesy of Quaker Oats.
These look so good! I love chocolate covered cherries, so I'm betting I would love these!
I'm always looking for something new to add a bit of variety to my cookie trays. I think this recipe would make a great addition. My favorite recipe is my mother n laws Molasses cookie recipe. I really think it's the coffee frosting that makes them the best!
Oh my goodness…your cookies look so heavenly! Shared it on Facebook! <3
oh susan! those cookies are so yummilicious looking hehehehe
They taste even better! I froze half the batter and my husband keeps pouting I didn’t make all of them!
those look so yummy! like the giveaway too!
Everyone in my family LOVES these cookies.
Your cookies look wonderful!
One of my favorite cookies that I make is a cherry butter cookie. They are awesome!
My favorite to make and the house favorite (good thing its the same lol) is Bran Chocolate chip
What a delcious looking cookie! My favorite recipe is a thick & chewey Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.
This looks so good! Thanks for sharing! The giveaway looks great too! 🙂
twitted this today, 24/11
These look so yummy! Will have to try them out 🙂