Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 16, 2020

Chocolate and cherry is one of those classic combinations that is just never the wrong choice. And using them together in cookies is a great excuse to use one of my favorite secret ingredients – almond extract! The combination of the tart cherries, fragrant almond, and rich chocolate will keep you and your guests always reaching for one more of these cherry chocolate chip cookies.

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What You Need to Get Started

You can easily find all of the ingredients for these cherry chocolate chip cookies at your grocery store. If you want to use curbside pick-up or home delivery, check out Instacart to shop online from your favorite local grocery store.

How to Make Chocolate & Cherry Cookies

These cookies are a fun treat, with just a simple addition which takes them from standard to exciting. However, adding cherries to these cookies only adds minimal work for you, especially if you have a cherry pitter!

To get started, add the room temperature butter and both types of sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream them together. Be careful not to over mix at nearly every step of cookie making. It can lead to flat, crispy cookies.

Once combined, add in the eggs and both types of extract. I love using almond extract in cookies. It adds a little extra secret that keeps everyone guessing. But here, it also complements the cherries so well. Cherry and almond is a classic combo.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the other dry ingredients, including both flours, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt, and whisk together. Cherries will add enough acid that baking soda is sufficient on its own in this recipe. And the cornstarch will help absorb any extra moisture, preventing the cookies from over-spreading.

Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the creamed sugars and mix on low until just combined. You may want to add the flour mixture in two phases, so it is able to combine without it escaping from the bowl.

Then get started on prepping your cherries. I used exactly twenty-five, a combination of sweet rainier cherries, and sour cherries. However, feel free to play around with your own combinations and adding more or less.

But just look at these gorgeous things! I absolutely love cherry season. Picking cherries is such a fun activity. Since they grow on trees, you can stand in the shade, under the leafy branches, which are pulled down by tons of these little fruits. Then they just pop off, sometimes three or four at a time when you tug.

The downside to cherries is their pits. If you have a cherry pitter, that will save you a lot of time and energy. However, because the cherries in this recipe are quartered anyway, you can also use your knife to remove the pits while cutting.

Once you have your cherries all pitted and cut, you’ll want to remove some of the excess juice. Use a paper towel to wrap up the cherries and pat them dry. They don’t need to be completely dried out, just not dripping.

Add the cherry pieces and a whole bunch of chocolate chips into the bowl with the dough. Don’t use the mixer for this step, but instead grab a silicone spatula, and fold in both cherries and chocolate gently, until combined. Then cover the bowl, and chill it overnight.

Let’s Bake Some Cookies

The next day, preheat your oven and prep two sheet pans by lining them with parchment paper. There is no need to remove the dough from the fridge to let it rest, since this is already a pretty soft dough. It should scoop easily.

Use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop or a tablespoon to create balls of dough, placed at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. I baked five cookies per sheet, and had no collisions. If your tray is ready before the oven, put the whole tray in the fridge. Also, be sure to put the bowl of dough back in the fridge between batches.

Bake the cookies one tray at a time for 9-11 minutes, but for the first batch, keep a close eye on them. With cookies, there can be a big difference in only a minute of extra cooking time. When you take them out of the oven, they should be puffy, and just starting to get golden and dry on the edges.

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes to firm up a bit. They will lose some of their puffiness, but shouldn’t completely flatten out. If they do, increase the heat on your oven for the next batch, and bake for a minute less.

Transfer the rested cookies to a cooling rack to let them finish cooling. You can definitely sneak one at this point, but it will still be a little gooey. I won’t tell.

However, it’s best to let them cool completely, since they continue cooking with the residual heat. Once done, the cookies will look much drier and slightly flatter than when you first took them out of the oven. But they are still soft and chewy!

These taste great served the day they are baked, or you can save them for later. Store at room temperature, on a plate covered in plastic wrap for 3-4 days. Keep them around even longer by freezing them, either in a sealed container or plastic bag.

You can eat them frozen, or let them thaw up to room temperature. You can even warm them up a bit in the oven, by baking at 300F for about 5 minutes.

Cherries are such a fun addition to these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies! Why not give them a try?

Sweet and Sour Cherries?

This recipe uses two different types of cherries: sweet and sour. These types of cherries are different species, and each one has different cultivars (which is when plants are selectively bred for specific features), especially sweet cherries, which has tons of varieties.

For the sweet ones, I suggest Rainier cherries, which are a very pretty mottled red and yellow with a yellow flesh inside. If you are lucky enough to live in an area that grows cherries, you can pick them yourself! It’s a fun outing for a nice summer day.

How to Serve These Cookies

You don’t need me to tell you that the best way to serve any kind of chewy, chocolatey cookie is with a glass of milk. But you can also enjoy these alongside some other fun treats. Try adding a scoop of coffee ice cream between two, and making an ice cream sandwich.

For a cozy drink, sip an almond Irish coffee hot cocoa, to complement the almond flavor in the cookie dough. Or if you are looking for a summertime treat, pair a couple of these with a refreshing raspberry lemon mojito.

Use Up Leftover Ingredients

Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies

A mix of sweet and sour cherries are a fun addition to soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, flavored with almond.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling8 hours
Total Time8 hours 25 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 Cookies
Calories: 149kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Almond Extract
  • 1 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 25 Cherries pitted and quartered, a mix of sweet and sour
  • 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on low, for 1-2 minutes until combined. Then add in the eggs and extracts, and mix on low until they are combined with the butter and sugar mixture.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, cornstarch, salt) until fully combined. Add to the mixer bowl, and mix on low until just combined.
  • Pat dry the pitted and quartered cherries to remove any excess juice. Then add these and the chocolate chips to the dough, folding in gently with a spatula. Cover the bowl, and chill overnight (or at least 8 hours).
  • Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 375°F, and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Use a spoon or cookie scoop to place balls of dough on the prepared cookie sheet, 2-inches apart, and bake for 9-11 minutes, one tray at a time.
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy same day, store at room temperature for 3-4 days in a sealed container, or freeze in a container for 3 months.
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10 thoughts on “Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

  1. I want to say WOW to your cookies! When I looked at the first picture, I thought that you used dried cherries. But I was so surprised and delighted to figure out the use of fresh cherries. Love your recipe and going to make it.

    1. You should be able to swap out the white whole wheat for all-purpose with no issues. I do it all the time in cookie recipes! I’d love to hear how it goes.

  2. Oh wow, these look utterly delicious! I know what you mean about almond and cherry – I love Bakewell tart, it’s a match made in heaven. That’s such a good tip about refrigerating your dough, and reducing the fresh cherry juice. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’ve bookmarked it to have a go! Lisa

  3. Always find that your cookies recipes fantastic and delicious! I put this on my list for future references! Thank you for sharing this tips xxx

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