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chocolate covered cherry cookies stacked on a plate with more cookies in the background

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

These chocolate cherry cookies feature a chocolate cookie base topped with maraschino cherries and chocolate frosting. They're just the treat to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 30
Author Kelsie

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 30 maraschino cherries

Frosting

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons milk or cream as needed for consistency
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Cookies

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. (These are your dry ingredients.)
  3. Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
  4. With mixer on low, beat in the dry ingredients until incorporated. The dough will be crumbly so use your hands to shape it into a cohesive mass.
  5. Shape the dough into roughly 30 balls (each ball should be a rounded tablespoon of dough). Arrange the balls on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Use your finger to make an indentation in the center of each cookie and press a cherry into each one.
  6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies look set. Carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting

  1. Once the cookies are fully cooled, make the chocolate frosting.
  2. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together into a medium bowl. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the butter, 4 tablespoons of the milk, and the salt; stir vigorously until smooth.
  3. If the frosting is too thick, stir in more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it’s a spreadable consistency. If it gets too thin you can add a little more powdered sugar.
  4. Spread over the top of each cookie. Serve.

Recipe Notes

  • Uneaten cookies can be stored in the fridge in airtight containers, layered with wax paper, for 3 or 4 days.
  • They can also be stored in the freezer, again in airtight containers, for 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours, or just eat them frozen.
  • You should only need one (10-ounce) jar of cherries for 30 cookies. If you don’t have quite enough cherries, you can cut a few in half.
  • I prefer the frosting made with cream because it’s a little richer, but you can substitute juice from the jar of cherries for some or all of the milk/cream in the frosting if you want.
  • If you want to top your cookies with sprinkles, add them as you go. The frosting sets quickly so if you wait until all of the cookies are frosted the sprinkles might not stick.