These Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies are crisp on the outside and soft and fudgey on the inside like a rich brownie. Their subtle cherry flavor and ganache drizzle put them over the top!
You guys, Valentine’s Day is next week already! I was 100% that teenager who never got a carnation sent to them in school and had to watch in horror as everyone else did.
These days, I couldn’t care less about Valentine’s Day – my Valentine is pretty good at telling me on the regular how much he loves me.
But I LOVE watching my kids enjoy it!
They get so excited about making special Valentine’s for their friends, exchanging them, and their class party. (P.S. If you and your kids are looking for unique ideas, there are lots of free printables in my Valentine’s Day section!)
These Fudgey Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies would be perfect for a class party. My kids all loved them, even more than a more traditional cookie that is coming you way soon. These taste like a super fudgey brownie with a subtle cherry flavor.
TIPS FOR CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY COOKIES
- Read all the instructions before starting and note that this dough needs a 30 minute room temperature rest time.
- Scoop your flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
- This recipe calls for melted chocolate. It is important to melt it before you do anything else so it has time to cool and doesn’t start cooking the dough before it goes in the oven.
- When melting the chocolate, be careful not to overheat. If microwaving, cookie in intervals and stir more than you think you need to as this will help melt the chocolate.
- Room temperature butter means butter you can dent easily with your finger, but not push all the way through.
- Make sure to dry the maraschino cherries with a paper towel so they don’t bring a lot of additional liquid to the party.
- The quality of chocolate makes a difference in making ganache. More on that in a moment.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
One of the super fun things about this recipe is the chocolate ganache on top that is lightly flavored with maraschino cherry juice.
There are lots of chocolate ganache recipes out there. The ratio of chocolate to heavy cream makes the difference in how firm it gets after cooling. The end result of this one is that it won’t drip off your cookie once cooled, but you can leave a fingerprint in it – sort of middle of the road.
- Put the chocolate in a bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 15 seconds.
- Pour over the chocolate.
- Let stand for two minutes.
- Whisk like crazy until it is smooth.
- Stir in cherry juice and drizzle away.
The type of chocolate you buy does make a difference. I would recommend name brand chocolate as it does tend to melt better.
If your ganache refuses to get smooth, put it in the microwave in 10 second intervals, whisking a lot in between, until it behaves being careful not to overheat.
Do not make this ganache until all of your cookies are baked. You want to drizzle them all at once while the ganache is liquidy.
OTHER FUN CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY TREATS
I’m obsessed with the flavor of chocolate and cherries and if you are too, here are some other treats you might love!
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Magic Bars
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Brownie Bombs
- Chocolate Covered Cherry S’mores Dip
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini
If you try these cookies or any of my other recipes, let me know what you think!
Fudgey Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 ounces semi sweet chocolate morsels approximately 1 1/3 cup
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 24 maraschino cherries lightly dried of their juice
FOR GANACHE DRIZZLE
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips about 1/2 a cup
Instructions
- Melt 8 ounces of chocolate chips according to the instructions on the package. Allow to cool while making the rest of the dough.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until it is light and fluffy. About three to six minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the maraschino juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the bowl.
- Beat in the melted chocolate. The dough will seem very liquidy at this point.
- Add all of the flour mixture, beat on low just long enough so it is integrated and won't fly around. Turn the mixer up high and beat just long enough so it is fully integrated. Do not over mix. Make sure to fully scrape down the sides, and fold the dough a few times with the spatula. It will seem to wet to form it into cookies. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- After the dough has rested, form into 1 1/2 inch dough balls using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. Place the dough approximately 2 inches apart. Make a small indentation in each cookie and place a dried maraschino cherry on top. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the tray half way through baking. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets before transfering to wire racks to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, place 3 ounces of chocolate chips into a bowl. Heat 1/4 cup of heavy cream in the microwave until almost boiling, about 15 seconds. Pour it over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 2 minutes. Then whisk until the chocolate is completely disolved. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice. Drizzle over the cookies and allow to set.
- Enjoy cookies right away or store in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers of cookies for up to a week. Please note that if you want to maintain their beauty they should not be stacked at all.
Teresa Legler says
Just saw this recipe and can’t wait to try. Need to get the cherries! My mother-in-law used to make a Chocolate cake with cherries. Delicious. I started making brownies with cherry Pie filling! Always a winner. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
I hope you love it!