With a soft, chewy texture that lies somewhere between a cookie and a brownie, this explosion of dark chocolate and maraschino cherry will satisfy you right down to your toes. And yes, I get a little bit passionate about cherries!
The Rowdy Baker loves her some cherries!
This recipe is a little fussier than a normal cookie recipe – more ingredients, a few extra steps – but it’s well worth the effort, especially for a holiday like Valentine’s Day.
| Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cookies | Print |
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1½ cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts - more if desired
- 1 10-oz jar maraschino cherries
- ICING:
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice or ¼ teaspoon cherry flavoring (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- decorate with maraschino cherries, sprinkles, chopped nuts
- Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two baking sheets (or cover with parchment)
- Drain cherries, reserving 2 tablespoons for icing, if desired. Chop cherries into small pieces and set aside. (Don't press or dry the chopped cherries...a little juice is fine.)
- In a medium pan, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together on low heat. Stir frequently. When chocolate is completely melted, remove from heat and stir.
- Add white sugar and brown sugar to the butter mixture and stir well.
- Add vanilla and buttermilk, stirring until combined.
- Put mixture into a large bowl. Add eggs and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Add chocolate chips, walnuts, and chopped cherries.
- With cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoon, drop dough at least 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. (Don't chill this dough. Bake the cookies right away, or scoop onto baking sheets and freeze for later.)3-4 minutes before moving to the rack to cool completely. Ice and decorate cookies.
- ICING:
- In a medium pan, heat the cream, chocolate, and cherry juice on low, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and stir well, until completely smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Let icing sit, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to spread without dripping...about 1 hour. (This will vary, depending on the temperature of your house.)
Note: Bake these right away. If you let the dough sit too long or put it in the fridge, it will set up like soft fudge! If you don’t want to bake them all, I suggest scooping the dough onto baking sheets and freezing for later.
Chop those cherries!
Melt the butter and chocolate.
Add the sugars and stir like crazy!
Stirring in the chocolate chips, nuts, and cherries.
Scoop onto prepared baking sheet – parchment for this batch.
Baked. Aren’t they pretty?
And now, for the icing!
Gently melt the chocolate and cream (and maybe a little cherry juice) for the icing.
Whisk in the powdered sugar until it’s velvety smooth.
Dollop (best for cherries) or spread (best for sprinkles) the icing.
Admire your creations before they disappear!
Here’s another idea: Buy some glass candle holders from the dollar store and serve individual cookies at each place setting. Pretty classy, huh?
So many cherries, so little time. I’m not sure why I bought a gallon of the things…guess I forgot the advice to “never shop hungry”!
Lorinda