Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Cookies: Soft and Chewy
Make these rich chocolate cherry cookies that taste like Black Forest cake. This recipe delivers a soft, chewy texture with deep chocolate flavor and bursts of cherry.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Total Time: 32 min
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped dried cherries
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained well and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (optional, for extra fudgy centers)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. This is your base texture.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. This keeps the leavening even.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix; that develops gluten and makes cookies tough.
- Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cherries, and chopped maraschino cherries. If using, fold in the dark chocolate chunks now.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. For bakery style chocolate cherry cookies, press them down slightly.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should look set, but the centers should still look slightly soft for that gooey chocolate cherry cookie result.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To ensure your cookies are chewy chocolate cherry cookies, slightly underbake them. They firm up as they cool.
- If you use maraschino cherries, press them between paper towels to remove excess liquid before chopping. Wet fruit causes spreading.
- For a triple chocolate cherry cookies version, use a mix of milk, dark, and white chocolate chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 30mg