These chocolate chip cherry cookies have crispy edges, chewy centers and fresh cherries and chocolate chips in every bite. They’re easy to make – no chilling required.
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Cherries are my oldest daughter’s favorite fruit, so I created these cherry cookies just for her (along with these cherry muffins)!
They are buttery, perfectly sweet and bursting with cherries and chocolate chips. Use fresh or dried cherries for a delicious cookie with major “black forest” vibes.
You don’t have to chill these chocolate chip cherry cookies (it’s actually best if you don’t), and they’re easy to make with a handful of simple ingredients.
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Cherry Cookies Ingredients & Substitutions
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- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter and coconut oil (softened, not melted) are both great substitutes.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. Using dark brown sugar will impart a slightly richer molasses taste.
- Vanilla extract. vanilla bean paste works in place of extract.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Cinnamon. I love the addition of cinnamon in these cherry cookies, it brings all the flavors together beautifully.
- Chocolate Chips. choose your favorite – semisweet, dark or milk. Even white chocolate chips taste great.
- Cherries. use fresh or dried cherries.
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How to Make Cherry Cookies
Let’s walk through this recipe together, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by pitting and chopping the cherries. Then, lay them out on paper towels and press gently to release and remove excess moisture (this is very important to avoid too much moisture in the dough). If you are using dried cherries, obviously skip this step.
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Then, in a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
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Next, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 1 minute.
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Then, add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
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Next, beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
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Then, add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
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Very gently fold in the cherries.
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Use a 1 ½ to 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, or until the top is just set and just barely beginning to turn light golden brown.
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Remove the cherry cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Serve
Serve these cherry cookies cooled to room temperature or very slightly warm. They are a great, festive addition to your holiday cookie trays along with our Favorite Christmas Cookies.
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How to Store Cherry Cookies
Once cooled, store the chocolate chip cherry cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze
You can freeze these cherry cookies two ways:
- Freeze the dough before baking (only recommended if using dried cherries). portion out the dough and roll it into balls. Then place it on a baking sheet and flash-freeze the balls until hardened. Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you’re ready to bake.
- To bake: remove the cookie dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions. This is my preferred method, because you can bake them fresh when you’re ready to enjoy them.
- Freeze baked cookies. To freeze baked cookies, let them cool to room temperature. Then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To thaw: let the cherry cookies sit out at room temperature until thawed.
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Cherry Cookies Recipe FAQS
Yes, doubling the ingredients will make about 40 cookies.
I don’t not recommend frozen cherries in this recipe. They release a lot of liquid which could cause the dough to be too wet.
Along with these cherry cookies, I suggest cherry muffins or this homemade cherry pie.
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Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup chocolate chips (6 oz)
- 1 cup cherries pitted, and chopped
Instructions
- Begin by pitting and chopping the cherries.
- Then, lay them out on paper towels and press gently to release and remove excess moisture (this is very important).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 1 minute.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat until combined.
- Add chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Gently stir in the cherries.
- Use a 1 ½ to 2 TBS cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, or until the top is just set and just barely beginning to turn light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool
Video
Notes
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter and coconut oil (softened, not melted) are both great substitutes.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. Using dark brown sugar will impart a slightly richer molasses taste.
- Vanilla extract. vanilla bean paste works in place of extract.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Cinnamon. I love the addition of cinnamon in these cherry cookies, it brings all the flavors together beautifully.
- Chocolate Chips. choose your favorite – semisweet, dark or milk. Even white chocolate chips taste great.
- Cherries. use fresh or dried cherries.
- The cherries have to be as dry as possible for the best results.
- Bake immediately, do not chill or the dough could become soggy.
- I don’t suggest using frozen cherries unless you can squeeze out almost all of the excess moisture.
